Kevon Looney’s Big Game 2 Makes Him Conference Finals MVP Candidate

No player opened with longer odds to win Western Conference Finals MVP than Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney.

It took two games for the big man to become a real threat for the award.

Looney, the center who starts but oftentimes plays less than half the game, put up a big effort in Golden State's comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2. He scored 21 points with 12 rebounds in 32 minutes.

When the series started, Looney was 150-1 to win the award at BetMGM. When he woke up on Saturday, he was 20-1.

Only three players have shorter odds than Looney: Stephen Curry (-350), Luka Doncic (+500) and Andrew Wiggins (+1600).

Looney was also effective in Game 1, playing 28 minutes, scoring 10 points and adding five rebounds and four assists.

As the updated odds show, it's still more unlikely than not that he wins Conference Finals MVP, but the fans showering him with "MVP" chants on Friday night weren't far off.

This is the first year for Conference Finals MVPs to be awarded. Named after Earvin "Magic" Johnson in the West and Larry Bird in the East, the NBA announced the new trophies earlier this month.

Looney picked up the slack for Draymond Green, who was a team-worst minus-19 in 28 minutes. Looney was plus-19.

Everyone is still chasing Curry, though. The odds-on favorite poured in 32 points while adding eight rebounds and five assists on the night. The Warriors won 126-117 after trailing 72-58 at half. Golden State covered for the second time in two games and holds a 2-0 lead heading to Dallas for Game 3.

Doncic did all he could, scoring 42 points on 52% shooting from the field. He tacked on 8 assists and five boards. He scored 20 points with seven turnovers in the Game 1 blowout loss.

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