Highlights
- Jonathan Kuminga is shining as a consistent scorer, showing impressive improvements in production and efficiency over the past months.
- The Warriors’ postseason hopes are in jeopardy, but Kuminga remains a bright spot, leading the team in scoring and stepping up in Steph Curry’s absence.
- Kuminga’s promise as a dynamic scorer, with strong shooting percentages and a developing game, is solidifying his future with the Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors seemed to find their groove with 11 wins out of 13 across January and February and looked to have a shot at avoiding the Play-In tournament.
Since then, four losses out of six and an injury to Stephen Curry seems to have not just locked the Warriors into the play-in, but into the 9th-10th seed match-up at that, meaning they’ll have to win two games to make the playoffs, and potentially both of them coming on the road.
Despite the grim horizons, there’s still reason to have hope in the Warriors, and that comes with Jonahan Kuminga’s emergence as a full-time starter and a consistent scorer.
Fortunes Turning for Kuminga
Averaging 19.5 PPG since new year
Ever since Kuminga reportedly lost faith in Steve Kerr, a page turned in the 21-year-old’s minutes and production. Kuminga only played 19 minutes in the loss to the Denver Nuggets that preceded those reports, and has not seen that little of a minute total since.
Four games later, he started his run of eight straight games of 20 points or more, shooting above 50 percent in every game, including going 11-for-11 in a win against the Atlanta Hawks.
He’d go on to finish January averaging 20.6 points on 58.6 percent shooting. February showed that January was a sign of things to come and not an outlier. His production and efficiency mostly remained steady, finishing the month at 18.1 points on 54.1 percent, helping the Warriors go 11-3 in the month.
He’d have 12 games of 20 or more points in the first two months of his career where he averaged 30 minutes a game.
March showed another development, with that being his ability to produce without Curry in the lineup. Curry hasn’t played in the three games since he rolled his ankle at the end of the Warriors’ loss to the Chicago Bulls on March 7, and while two of the three games have ended in losses, Kuminga has continued to be a positive.
He’s averaged 25 points on 48 percent shooting, including 66 percent from three-point range and going 17-20 from the free-throw line.
|
Kuminga’s Stats By Month |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Month |
Minutes |
Points |
FG% |
|
October |
21.7 |
11 |
44.4% |
|
November |
19.7 |
11.3 |
45.5% |
|
December |
24.4 |
14.2 |
56.3% |
|
January |
30.5 |
20.6 |
58.6% |
|
February |
30.2 |
18.1 |
54.1% |
|
March |
28.7 |
20.6 |
49.5% |
Kuminga gives the Warriors a dynamic point scorer who’s great at getting to the rim and has a developing mid-range shot. His driving has shown to draw fouls, making his growth at the line — including two games shooting 9-10 in March — such a promising sign.
His ability to score in the restricted area has been clear since he entered the league, and the development of the rest of his scoring continues to make him tougher to guard.
Warriors Postseason Hopes Hanging on by a Thread
Holding on to 10th seed and final Play-In spot
The Warriors are four games back of the sixth seed and four games ahead of the 11th. Barring a stunning turnaround paired with collapses in front of them, they are likely locked into their Play-In fate. This may bring back memories of the 2020-21 season, where the Warriors missed the playoffs after losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, despite Curry scoring 37 and 39 points respectively in the two games.
In a season where Klay Thompson has been streaky and Andrew Wiggins has only averaged 12.6 points, Kuminga has given plenty of reason to believe that he can be relied on to step up with Curry in this year’s play-in games if and when they come around.
|
Jonathan Kuminga – Shooting Percentage by Location |
|
|---|---|
|
Restricted Area |
225-307 (73.3%) |
|
Paint(non-RA) |
96-218 (44%) |
|
Mid-Range |
25-71 (35.2%) |
|
3-Point Range |
46-145 (31.7%) |
|
Free Throw |
202-271 (74.5%) |
Looking possible too far ahead, non-Curry production was a clear deficiency for Golden State last year. Curry averaged just over 30 points in last years playoffs, with no other Warrior averaging 20 or more. It may not make sense for a team in 10th to worry about the first round of the playoffs, but again Kuminga will be looked at to come second in production if the Warriors make it to that point.
Kuminga’s Future in Golden State
Forward reiterates commitment to Warriors
A rumor about his displeasure started this turn in form, and to go with the production, Kuminga ensured his happiness in the Bay Area on the Dubs Talk Podcast.
“When I look at those three people – [Curry], [Thompson] and Draymond [Green] – and I look at their pictures in the practice facility every day, I’m like, ‘This is where I want to be. I want to be right there. I want to play here my whole life.'”
Along with his own feelings, other Warriors have shared their belief in Kuminga. When there were rumors about a potential trade to bring LeBron James to the Warriors after the trade deadline, Draymond Green made it known the 21-year-old was untouchable when he commentated the All-Star Game on TNT.
When I talked to Joe [Lacob] on the phone and we discussed the details of what we had to give up, I said ‘If it’s Kuminga then the answers no.'”
Kuminga Has Come a Long Way
7th overall pick in 2021
It’s a strong turnaround from the first two years of his career. Despite being picked seventh overall in the 2021 NBA draft, the then 18-year-old saw opportunities hard to come by. His highest minutes per game for a month came in February of his rookie season, playing 25.7 a game.
That month was also his highest scoring month of his first two years, averaging 14.8 points per game that month. Even with that production, his minutes went down the next two months, and in the playoffs he only had one series averaging double-digit minutes, with that coming against the Grizzlies in the Western Conference Semifinals.
|
Jonathan Kuminga’s Production – First Two Seasons |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Minutes |
Points |
FG% |
|
2021-22 Regular Season |
16.9 |
9.3 |
51.3% |
|
2022 Playoffs |
8.6 |
5.2 |
50% |
|
2022-23 Regular Season |
20.8 |
9.9 |
52.5% |
|
2023 Playoffs |
6.1 |
3.4 |
54.2% |
He rarely saw consistent opportunity in his first two seasons, and it looked to be a similar story early in his third. With the minutes finally coming his way this season, he’s locked his place into the starting line-up, and is showing the faith the Warriors had in him to take him seventh overall was properly placed, and that an opportunity should have been given to him sooner.
Jonathan Kuminga Opens up on Future With Warriors, Prior Frustrations
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga cleared the air on his previous comments while discussing his interest in sticking with the franchise.