Report: Looney could return to Finals after initially being ruled out for year

Contrary to the initial announcement that Golden State Warriors center Kevon Looney would be sidelined for the remainder of The Finals, further evaluation into the backup center's collarbone injury has reopened the possibility of his return to the series, league sources told ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

Looney suffered a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture in the first half of Game 2 versus the Toronto Raptors. The severity of the injury prompted Warriors coach Steve Kerr to announce prior to Game 3 that the 22-year-old's season was over.

Looney had played an important role off the bench for the shorthanded Warriors, averaging 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in nearly 21 minutes per game through Game 1 of The Finals.

Without the fourth-year big, the Warriors' center rotation has looked increasingly sparse over the last six quarters. The team has been forced to rely on a motley crew including DeMarcus Cousins, who was presumed to be out for the year after tearing his left quad earlier in the playoffs; 34-year-old Andrew Bogut, who only signed with the team in March after playing in Australia for most of the winter; Jordan Bell, who was out of the rotation through much of the team's early playoff run.