Mariah Simone boasts about beau Kevon Looney's staggering 'Iron Man' NBA record
Kevon Looney just set a career milestone on Sunday night after playing for the Golden State Warriors in a road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his partner, Mariah Simone, joined the celebration.
Simone reposted the Warriors' Instagram statement announcing Looney's milestone in her own Instagram story.
The game against the Cavaliers marked Looney's 200th consecutive game, and in an era where load management has evolved into a serious issue, this "Iron Man" feat is impressive in itself.
What's more impressive is that Looney continued to show that he could take the NBA grind after beginning his pro career with a bum hip that forced him to sit out a lot of games as well as having to sit out several matches during the 2019-2020 season with neuropathy in his hamstring.
What Kevon Looney had to go through before achieving 'Iron Man' feat
Kevon Looney's injury history dates back to his one-and-done stint with UCLA in the NCAA. Concerns were raised just before the 2015 NBA Draft that Looney had hip issues and was even rumored to have undergone surgery before his last year in college.
The Warriors drafted him 30th overall to keep him in California, but in August of that year, he underwent right hip surgery. Kevon Looney bounced between the Golden State Warriors and their NBA G-League affiliates, the Santa Cruz Warriors, during his rookie year.
However, his right hip suffered from inflammation, and following another surgery on his other hip, he missed the remainder of the season and had to witness Golden State blow a 3-1 finals lead despite a 73-9 regular season and lose the championship.
Just when he thought he was finally fine after two hip surgeries, Looney had another setback in 2019 after he was diagnosed with neuropathy following issues with his hamstring. It was later discovered that he had been playing through it since the 2016–2017 season.
In the 2019-2020 bubble season, Looney played only 20 games, and during the COVID-19 lockdown, he underwent surgery on a core muscle.
Following early injury setbacks, Looney played the remaining 29 games of the 2020–2021 season, finally got to play two full regular seasons after that, and recorded his "Iron Man" accomplishment of 200 consecutive games played in the seventh game of the current season.
In a game against the Cavaliers, Looney grabbed 11 rebounds and five assists in 15 minutes of play in the Warriors' 115-104 road loss to the Cavaliers.