Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole are the Warriors’ Iron Men

Here’s something that hasn’t happened since the 2002-2003 season: Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole are the first pair of Warriors teammates in 20 seasons to have played a full 82 games.

Say whatever you want about Poole’s up-and-down season — he has been available all season long. Despite plenty of bumps and bruises along the way, Poole has proven to be sturdy. Even while slipping and falling down on drives and also absorbing contact during his forays to the rim, Poole has withstood all of them and is heading into the playoffs with an 82-game season under his belt.

Meanwhile, Looney has played 192 consecutive games, a streak that started back in March 23, 2021. He played all 104 games last season (regular season and playoffs) and all 82 games this regular season.

Looney has come a long way from various hip and core muscle problems to become the NBA’s iron man. A feature by Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic on Warriors’ Director of Sports Medicine and Player Performance Rick Celebrini has a small snippet on Looney’s regimen and how it has helped him stay in tip-top shape for each game:

This has been of particular relevance in recent seasons. Celebrini guided Looney back from a core surgery that nearly derailed his career. The league leader this season in offensive rebounds, Looney now does hot yoga regularly on the advice of Celebrini. He just played his 192nd consecutive game, the second-longest streak in that category by an active player.

“He helped me find my daily routine,” Looney said, “from my hip stuff to my core stuff. My warmups is everything I learned from him. He’s a big part of why I’ve been able to stay on the court.”