On Tuesday, the former lottery pick continued to make his case for more minutes once with his fourth-quarter defense against Hornets swingman P.J. Washington, his opportune buckets, and his athleticism to finish plays on both ends of the floor. Being able to play the entire fourth quarter was proof of head coach Steve Kerr’s trust in his defensive play. He also found a way to contribute some timely buckets too.

“We went with him for his defense,” Kerr said, per The Athletic. “He’s playing really well defensively, and he was guarding LaMelo (Ball).”

“At the moment — fourth quarter,” Kuminga admitted, “I don’t usually get to be in the game.”

Here were the five big Jonathan Kuminga plays in crunch time tonight vs Hornets

*Rips away a steal from PJ Washington
*Traffic rebound over Plumlee
*Gets available for dunk
*Floater in iso vs Hayward
*Cuts open for another dunk pic.twitter.com/kEvGuzLhqg

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 28, 2022

During crunch time, Kuminga sat down, put a seat belt on Washington, and subsequently forced a turnover; he grabbed a traffic rebound out of Miles Plumlee’s hands and hit a floater over Gordan Hayward to give Golden State a five-point lead. Kuminga ripping the ball and collecting a steal garnered a lot of praise from Kerr and four-time champion Draymond Green.

“That was will,” Draymond Green said. “That was ‘I want the ball more than you.’ That was, ‘Our backs are against the wall. We’ve lost the lead. Let me go make a play myself.’ So he took the ball. He goes and gets a dunk. He goes and snatches a rebound in traffic. He made every play down the stretch. I think it all started with that play with PJ Washington taking the ball. He manhandled him.”

Here’s some of that Draymond Green sound on Jonathan Kuminga and individual vs team defense

“I don’t play defense within the team concept. I know most people think I do. But I don’t. When you’re good enough, the team concepts adapt around you.” pic.twitter.com/AnfplvJ63k

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 28, 2022

Kuminga put the finishing touches on the win with a cutting dunk in the lane and clamped up LaMelo Ball for 90 feet. Ball wanted a quick bucket with 10 seconds left, but Kuminga’s pitbull mentality forced Ball into a miss that sealed Charlotte’s loss. Kuminga’s effort is a welcome development for a Warriors team looking to reclaim the stingy defensive identity that former coach Mark Jackson built that led to four championships.

“It’s been a beautiful thing to watch,” Green said. “It’s his (improved) understanding on that side of the ball. He’s in the right spot more often than not now. I think his growth in that area has been absolutely amazing. Quite frankly, it’s been much needed for us. Because we haven’t guarded dribble penetration well. We haven’t been really good at the point of attack all year. He’s changing that for us.”

Although Kuminga isn’t a seasoned veteran yet, his physical acumen and embrace of being Golden State’s defensive hound dog will help the Warriors turn around a season that hasn’t gone quite as they expected. Getting stops and forcing timely turnovers like Kuminga caused will do the job. Draymond Green took the time to the point that, saying, “it’s a beautiful thing to watch,” Kuminga became a dogged defender in real-time.

“He f—ing locks up now,” Green said. “I think it’s very impressive to see. Not that you never thought he was capable, but to see the maturity and buying into a role. Like, ‘Oh, that’s my role; that’s what I need to do. I’m going to go do that better than anyone.’ We’ve seen his impact over the last few weeks. He’s hawking every point guard he gets on. … As a competitor, you lose your spot in the rotation; what are you going to do to get it back? Some sulk. Most sulk. Then some go and take it back. That’s what he’s done.”

Green also believes that if Kuminga can continue developing his defensive acumen and basketball IQ, he can play within and outside Kerr’s defensive concepts. Being disruptive on the ball and locking up his individual assignments will also help.

“I don’t play defense in the team concept,” Green said. “I know most people think I do, but I don’t. When you’re good enough, the team concepts adapt around you. That’s what he’s starting to show. We may not want him to pick up as high as he picks up all the time. But if you’re wreaking havoc, and it’s bettering us, and it’s worsening the opponent’s offense, who is going to say stop? When you’re good enough, and you’re capable, the team concepts adapt around you.”

The post How Jonathan Kuminga Impressed Draymond Green With His Defense appeared first on SLAM.

On Tuesday, their 132-94 loss to the Knicks in Madison Square Garden can be chalked up as a mixed result as they never led and played without Stephen Curry for the third straight game since he went down with a shoulder injury on Dec. 14. Golden State never led after the Knicks opened the game with an 8-0 run and never looked back during a wire-twire-win that gave New York their eight straight win.

The Warriors made it as close as 35-33 in the first-half but the Knicks pulled away over time and entered halftime with a 69-56 lead.

“The Knicks are in a good groove right now. They totally outplayed us,” Kerr said per ESPN. “We sank tonight. We’re trying to hang in there and we will. Another game tomorrow.”

When Anthony Slater of The Athletic asked about the fourth quarter effort Kerr got from Jordan Poole (26 points), Moses Moody (11 points), Jonathan Kuminga (13 points, four rebounds, and four assists) James Wiseman (four points, three rebounds, one steal, two blocks), the nine-time champ said that Golden State’s young guys are “working their butts off” and that they have “to keep our energy and our spirit up” when “things don’t go well.”

Steve Kerr on the struggles from the younger portion of the roster tonight vs Knicks pic.twitter.com/6B5u1T5sj4

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) December 21, 2022

As the Warriors continue to mesh their maxamzie both their present and future lineups, they will have to see that Poole, Moody, Kuminga, Wiseman, and Andrew Wiggins (when healthy) are capable of taking the torch Curry, KlayThompson, and Draymond Green lit and continue to build on the championship DNA and culture that’s led to four titles since 2015.

The post Steve Kerr on Young Players Keeping Their ‘Spirits Up’ During Tough Times appeared first on SLAM.

Wiggins has since brought the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Canada as he hosted youth camps in Vaughan and Mississauga. The 2022 All-Star returning to his hometown allowed him to prove to the kids attending his camp that when you believe in yourself and shut out the outside news, you can reap a lot of awards.

“I feel great,” Wiggins said per the Toronto Star. “There’s been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of people had counted me out, but to be back and … winning a championship? All the sacrifices, all the ups, and downs, all the stuff was worth it. It makes the story that much better.”

HOW'S THE AIR UP THERE WIGGS? (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/dR3ehMFnft

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 14, 2022

It was a challenging and humbling lesson Wiggins learned as he went from being a volume scorer in Minnesota known for putting up empty calorie stats on losing teams. When he arrived in Golden State, Wiggins was able to thrive as the third star on a group headlined by Stephen Curry and Klay Thomspon.

Under the watchful eye of GM Bob Myers, Coach Steve Kerr, Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green, Maple Jordan embraced being a two-way wing that could be relied on to get a bucket late in the shot clock while guarding the toughest perimeter threat.

“When I step on the court, I’ve always been confident in what I can do,” he said. “When I was in Minnesota, I put up numbers. But people said, ‘He put up numbers on a bad team.’ So, I go to Golden State, and I’m not scoring as much, but I’m doing a lot at a more efficient rate, so the whole world gets to see.”

Wiggs is so damn smooth.
(via @warriors) pic.twitter.com/T9unmLqnet

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) June 14, 2022

He played a pivotal role in guarding offensive threats like Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, and Jayson Tatum. He took on each assignment and won more than his fair share of battles, averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

“It’s been a different type of summer, but the best summer of my life,” he said. “It’s been amazing coming down here and feeling all this love and positivity. It’s been great. Just being able to bring the trophy back home to where it all started for me —— where all my friends and family are, that helped me get to the place where I’m at now.”

Wiggins hopes to come into the 2022-23 season with a freshly minted extension after carrying a significant two-way load last season. The Warriors will likely have to lean on Wiggins as they implement Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and James Wiseman into the lineup after they let several veterans walk away in free agency.

The post Andrew Wiggins Feeling ‘Great’ During ‘Best Summer’ of His Life appeared first on SLAM.

The eighth-year head coach identified Kevon Looney, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green as the Warriors’ “foundational six,” with the latter three serving as the team’s established core.

Kerr believes Golden State’s core is among the best in the League, especially after adding the younger trio of Looney, Wiggins, and Poole to the mix.

“We have probably more continuity than anybody in the League with our core group,” Kerr said. “Add Wiggs and Jordan and the institutional knowledge they’ve gained, and we have a really strong foundation. That’s the most important thing you can have in this League.

“We had it going into last year. But the difference was, a year ago, we didn’t know if we were really contenders. That’s why the 18-2 start was so big. It reinforced it. This year, being defending champs, it doesn’t guarantee anything, but you have a confident sense in who you are. We have our main six guys back, the foundational six that we know are going to be on the court for big minutes every night. That allows us to bring our young guys along.”

The Dubs’ roster also features future stars such as Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and James Wiseman, all of whom Kerr claims “have shown really good signs.” Moody and Kuminga saw action in the playoffs during the Warriors’ Finals run last season (and also impressed in the most recent NBA Summer League), while Wiseman was sidelined due to injury.

The Warriors will have a lot to prove as they focus on their win-and-develop mindset. Their future success will be predicated on their young core of Moody, Kuminga, Wiseman, Poole, and Wiggins being able to successfully takeover once Golden State’s “foundational six” leave the Warriors.

Next season will be a different journey after the Warriors’ lottery-bound seasons but coming off a championship brings a different level of confidence. Furthermore, being able to get substantial contributions from Moody, Kuminga, and Wiseman on top of his “foundational six” next season, the future could hold another championship for Golden State.

“I don’t know that it’s a bigger challenge because last year felt like a huge challenge going in,” Kerr said. “Last year felt more daunting because we’d had two lousy seasons in a row. This year feels different because we’re the defending champs. It feels like we’ve got our groove back. We’ll have Klay back for a full season. Our foundation in place. While we’re absolutely going to play a lot of young guys, we kind of have a core six, a foundational six players who are really the ones that make everything happen and will allow us to bring the young guys along.”

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Steve Kerr on the ‘Strong Foundation’ the Warriors Have Built appeared first on SLAM.

After his first pitch, Curry was subsequently interviewed and asked about living in the Bay Area and wanting to stay with the Golden State Warriors for the entirety of his career.

“That was a really natural process actually for me,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area, “Cause like you said, I just finished my 13th year, and to be able to say I’ve played for one team my entire career, and also to say between the 10 years in Oakland and these last three years in San Francisco, I can honestly say how special this place is — Honestly, I don’t want to leave ever. I want this to be my one and only home, and even thinking about what happens after basketball is done.”

“I don’t want to leave ever. I want this to be my one and only home” – Steph on the Bay Area pic.twitter.com/aWHLidy8b1

— NBC Sports Bay Area & CA (@NBCSAuthentic) July 27, 2022

Curry signed a four-year max extension last summer and won’t hit the free agent market until 2026, when he’s 38-years-old. The happiness that will come with playing Golden State comes with one caveat; he wants to play out the final years of his career with the championship teammates that he’s gone to battle with for the last decade.

Curry reportedly wants Golden State’s front office to pay Draymond Green and Klay Thompson so they can play together, at least through the end of his current contract. The only problem is the luxury tax the Warriors will have to pay to keep Green, Thompson, Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole on the team for the next three seasons. Green reportedly wants a max contract that, per multiple reports, could be in the four-year range.

The one thing that could keep the band together would be a player deciding to take a paycut. The Warriors are also in a win-and-develop mode right now as they focus on making the most out of Curry, Thompson, and Green’s remaining prime years while making sure that their young core of Poole, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and James Wiseman get a chance to play and be thrown the fire of playing on a championship contender team.

The post Stephen Curry Wants Golden State ‘to Be His One and Only Home’ appeared first on SLAM.

Jonathan Kuminga first learned the game by watching Kobe highlights at an internet cafe in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Now at 19 years old, he’s an NBA champion. pic.twitter.com/FD8bjjSFRl

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) July 26, 2022

Everything you see from Kuminga, his work ethic, and his potential as a two-way lockdown star for the Warriors came from the adversity of his journey to the League. It came from Kuminga growing up watching Kobe Bryant highlights in an internet cafe in the Congo.

“It was crazy cause there’s a lot of things that you have over here that you don’t get over there. Going to the Internet cafe at an early young age, just watching Kobe, and that’s when I fell in love with basketball.” Kuminga said.

Kuminga went on say that people his age or younger that come to the States should use the presented opportunity to come here and take advantage of it.

Kuminga parlayed his high school success into becoming a part of the inaugural G League Ignite team. Kuminga went on to cement his potential as a lottery pick-level player, averaging 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. After his season of development with the G League Ignite, the Golden State Warriors were impressed with Kuminga enough to draft him seventh overall in the 2021 NBA Draft.

“Just me going to the G League; it was just basically like me leaving home and coming here. I think I was going to be drafted just a year after that, and it be way higher. That’s what made me go to the G League and just get ready to be professional and way ahead of everybody. The night I got drafted, my parents came over, and then I heard my name get called just to sit at the same table; I don’t think that happened since I left home. That was just a joyful time to enjoy it with my parents and my family.”

Next season, Kuminga will have a prime opportunity to become a vital piece of the Warriors’ rotation as they attempt to defend their 2022 title. The Warriors let vital members of their bench mob walk in free agency in order to focus on their develop and win now philosophy, while Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green remain on the roster.

The post How Jonathan Kuminga Learned the Game by Watching Kobe Bryant’s Highlights in Cafe in the Congo appeared first on SLAM.

However, just because that may be true doesn’t mean that Iggy is retired to hang up his sneakers and retire. If Iguodala knows one thing at this point, it’s that he doesn’t want to be a player-coach if he returns to the Warriors this summer.

“I like basketball,” Iguodala told NBC Sports Bay Area, “I actually like training, too. Summer training is probably the hardest thing. People don’t understand that to really get ready for a season what your body has to go through.

“I’m trying to reflect on the season, enjoy it, enjoy being a champion. And if that time comes — I don’t know if it’s going to be a tough decision, but I’m ready for whatever.”

Iggy filled that role for Golden State last season, similar to what former teammate Udonis Haslem has done over the previous six seasons.

When they were teammates on the Heat, Iguodala saw firsthand how hard Haslem worked as a player-coach, being ready to play despite playing only 58 games since the 2015-2016 season, his 5 a.m. wake-up calls, and attending every practice. Iggy called it a “testament to his work ethic.” but said that he’s “got to kill” any notion that that’s what he wants to do at this late stage of his career.

“The thing that I don’t want to see misconstrued, or I don’t want the perception thrown out there, is that I’m a coach,” he said, describing himself as a businessman who plays basketball. “I don’t want to get thrown into the ‘just go coach.’ That’s not a route I’m looking forward to taking. Not at all.”

If Iggy decides to return, he most likely will be tasked with mentoring the youngest players on the Warriors once again, 20-somethings like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Jordan Poole, and the like. It’s not an easy job, but it’s a job Iguodala thrived in this past season, and it’ll be a part of the reason why Kuminga, Moody, and Poole end up stepping up and doing well when Coach Steve Kerr calls them into action this upcoming season.

The post Andre Iguodala On Continuing Career or Retiring: ‘Ready for Whatever’ appeared first on SLAM.

But Iggy’s injury woes haven’t prevented him from playing a vital role for the Warriors as a player-assistant coach while in street clothes. This is mainly done by mentoring Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody all season and keeping this deep playoff run in perspective. According to Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News, Iguodala has made sure to remind the rookies to take plenty of pictures and keep memorabilia.

“Historically, they aren’t supposed to take on everything that comes with being in the Finals,” Iguodala said. “They’re supposed to be on college campuses learning about themselves, learning who they are as people, learning what they like, learning what they don’t like, instead of these guys making five-plus million dollars a year, got all the pressures, the madness of having money and being in the spotlight. You can become jaded. You can start taking these things for granted.

“It’s not their fault. I’m guilty of it, just being in the Finals so many times where I feel nothing. I just know it’s my job to go out and win. Really no joy in it; it’s just going to work.

Iggy has also maintained his brutal honesty with playoff vets like Kevon Looney and players playing in the playoffs for the first time like Jordan Poole. The third-year guard said Iggy “doesn’t leave any rock unturned,” and as a three-time champ, he coaches “how he sees the game unfold.”

“Extremely meticulous,” Poole said. “He likes to point out the details and small things. He has a lot of knowledge, and he’s willing to share, which is really cool to be a part of — He’s also extremely real. He’ll keep it a rack; he won’t sugarcoat anything. Being able to have him in our corner as a vet is huge.”

Iguodala’s knowledge as an 18-year vet and a player who played a significant role in the Warriors’ title runs as a versatile defender in Golden State’s small-ball lineups has earned him the ear of the younger Warriors.

His institutional knowledge of Golden State’s playstyle and culture has helped him stay in the League just as much as his quick hands, length, and athleticism. At 38-years-old, Iggy isn’t a part of the Warriors’ long-term plan, but for the time he’s relied on to be a strong voice on the bench.

He’s been given even more leeway as a veteran and player-coach because the Warriors championship core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson trust him to help Poole, Kuminga, and Moody see what they see on the floor. Having him in their collective ear will only make playing on the biggest stage of basketball even more when it matters the most.

“He has access, not just physical access but emotional access that the coaching staff does not have,” Coach Steve Kerr said. “Frankly, there’s a trust factor that exists that can’t possibly exist between players and coaches. That’s why the role is so important. He has a different vantage point, and the guys believe in him so much, and he’s just brilliant at demanding and embracing and everything in between.”

Iggy awaits clearance for Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The post Andre Iguodala’s Veteran Presence Essential to Finals Run appeared first on SLAM.

Kuminga grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he fell in love with basketball at an early age. “When I started playing, we used to walk far away to find [a court]. There aren’t gyms all over like you see here,” he told SLAM in 2019. “[Here], you walk down two blocks and you find a gym, a park. You gotta walk like 45 minutes to get to wherever you gotta go to play [back home]. And then after that, you gotta make sure you get back home on time because [there’s] so much stuff out there. You might even find some people that are just going to see you on the road and stab you, try to kill you. It’s kind of dangerous. It [helped] me because I’m doing that walk every day. Even my team back home, I was the young kid on the team—they started taking me to every trip because they liked that I was motivated to do that walk to come play.”

In order to reach his full potential, Kuminga realized that he would have to travel a far greater distance. He got a one-way ticket to the United States, even though that meant having to be thousands of miles away from his family. Once there, he quickly began to take over the high school hoops scene, rising to become the No. 1 ranked prospect in his class. At 6-8, with elite athleticism, he was a dominant force on both ends of the floor. 

Along with Jalen Green, another five-star recruit, Kuminga decided to sign with the G League Ignite—a new program that offered a unique pathway to the NBA. Competing against much older, more experienced pros, he averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. 

The Warriors drafted him with the seventh overall pick this past summer. At 19 years old, he was considered a project—someone with promising talent and incredible upside, but not ready to contribute right away. Thus, he was widely viewed as a possible trade chip, giving Golden State the flexibility to negotiate for an established star who better fit their timeline.

But as the season progressed, it became clear that Kuminga absolutely was ready to contribute right away. Over the past several weeks, his role in Steve Kerr’s rotation has steadily grown. In February, the versatile forward has averaged 15.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game, shooting an absurd 60 percent from the field.

With defenses so fixated on Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Kuminga waits for the right moments and cuts hard to the basket. When teammates find him, he finishes strong at the rim (see below). He is launching threes with more and more confidence, going 2/2 in Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets. His size, speed and athleticism make him tough to contain in transition, too. Of course, that combination also gives him an edge on the other end. He defends multiple positions effectively, uses his 6-11 wingspan to deflect passes and soars for impressive blocks.

RIM ROCKER

Jonathan Kuminga SOARS in for the emphatic flush!@warriors and Lakers on ABC NOW! pic.twitter.com/7jMlkcccjY

— NBA (@NBA) February 13, 2022

Kuminga throws down the reverse jam

Watch Now on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/oz9UCQxdQa pic.twitter.com/RKzHfyMMsS

— NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2022

BLOCK BY KUMINGA!#DubNation #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/TX5bhjNHs2

— Camisa 23 (@camisa_23) February 13, 2022

On Saturday, in a primetime matchup against the Lakers, Kuminga started and was tasked with guarding LeBron James. The rook got into some foul trouble, but did a solid job overall, forcing James into a few turnovers and generally making things difficult. Kuminga also had 18 points and 9 rebounds of his own, helping Golden State secure the 117-115 win. 

Kuminga’s got bounce pic.twitter.com/WykmXE5XIl

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 13, 2022

“He definitely rose to the moment,” Kerr told reporters afterwards. “The plan was—let’s get him experience now. Let’s put him on LeBron now because he’s gonna have to guard LeBron and plenty of other guys in the playoffs who are really tough jobs, tough covers. We’re just trying to get him all the experience he can get right now and he’s handling it beyond anything I could have expected even a couple of weeks ago. So his rise this last month has just been brilliant.” 

“Isn’t that crazy he’s not gonna be in the Rising Stars Game?” Klay Thompson added. “He just guarded LeBron James for however many minutes, gave us 18 on 11 shots—almost a double-double. How many 19-year-olds, 20-year-olds are doing that?”

It did seem crazy that Kuminga wouldn’t be a part of All-Star Weekend in Cleveland. Too crazy. Soon after that press conference, it was reported that he would be replacing the injured Chris Duarte in tonight’s Rising Stars Game—a well-deserved honor for a true rising star. 

The post SLAM x Panini Rookie Spotlight: Jonathan Kuminga appeared first on SLAM.

For the 19-year-old Kuminga, a chance is given to showcase his skills against the League’s brightest young stars. Kuminga is averaging 7.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.3 minutes of run per game on the season.

Kuminga put many on notice in the Dubs’ weekend game against the Los Angeles Lakers, recording 18 points, nine rebounds, and one block in 25 minutes. However, what was most impressive is that he was given the dreaded task of guarding LeBron James — and he held his own. The King shot 33.3% percent from the field, the lowest field goal percentage he’s shot in a game this season when playing 35+ minutes.

Kuminga’s performance left teammate Klay Thompson impressed, per NBCSports.

“He just guarded LeBron James for however many minutes, gave us 18 on 11 shots, and almost a double-double — how many more 19-year-olds or 20-year-olds are doing that?”

Kuminga will look to continue his strong rookie campaign by delivering an outstanding performance in the Rising Star game this coming weekend.

The post Jonathan Kuminga Replacing Chris Duarte in the NBA Rising Stars game appeared first on SLAM.

Wherever it is, he’ll be ready.

“To be real, the city don’t matter,” Kuminga says. “I just want the best coach, the best team, the best teammates that are going to help me grow and allow me to play. That’s where I want to land.”

It makes sense that a player who’s moved around as much as Kuminga has doesn’t mind the uncertainty around his next destination. A willingness to relocate in search of better competition is a big reason why he entered the summer as a consensus top-five pick in every reputable mock draft. He’s just 18, but he’s already shown a dedication to improving his game that, combined with his raw talent, have made him a coveted prospect. His ceiling is sky high and he has the confidence to match.

“I know for sure there’s nobody better than me in this draft class,” he says.

Looking back on his junior season, Kuminga says, “I worked hard in high school to the point where there really wasn’t nothing left for me to prove. That’s why I ended up going to the G League. I wanted to be a professional, learn the professional game. It was a pretty easy decision.”

He started that journey last summer, signing with the new developmental squad G League Ignite alongside fellow 2021 lottery lock Jalen Green. The impact of COVID-19 meant the squad didn’t actually play a game that counted until February, but Kuminga showed no rust and no fear. The 6-6, 210-pounder scored 19 points in a team-high 33 minutes to lead Ignite to a debut 109-104 win over the Santa Cruz Warriors. “I was ready right away,” he says. “My first game, of all the young guys, I felt like I was as ready as anybody.”

He largely maintained that level, averaging 15.8 points and 7.2 boards—both second on the team—in a team-high 32.8 minutes per. He knows not all his numbers are where he wants them—efficiency is an issue, as his shooting percentages, particularly behind the arc and from the line, all show plenty of room to improve—but as an athlete, competitor and finisher, he confirmed his elite potential. “I feel like I’m more mature, like I grew a lot, got a lot smarter, like I know what I’m capable of doing and what I’m not,” he says. “I think I showed that I’m capable of playing at the highest level.”

The focus now is on continued improvement.

“My biggest strength is the work,” he says. “I watch a lot of film and I put in work every single day. If I get bored, I just go to the gym.”

And Kuminga makes clear he doesn’t just want to get to the next level—he wants to excel. He wants to be one of those household names, the guys who even a kid like him growing up on the other side of the world would know about. Believe it or not, Kuminga says that while he’d sometimes log on to YouTube at a nearby internet cafe to watch highlights—“It was Kobe, sometimes Michael Jordan, LeBron”—he swears that he didn’t actually pay that much attention to the NBA.

Those days are over. Now, if he can match the expectations he’s already set for himself, the next generation of kids from Congo and across Africa will have a new highlight hero to emulate.

GRAB YOUR COPY OF SLAM 233.

Ryan Jones is a Contributing Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter at @thefarmerjones.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post Proof is in the Progress: Jonathan Kuminga’s Journey to the NBA Draft appeared first on SLAM.

If playing a shortened G League season in a bubble wasn’t different enough, one of the teams that will draw some of the most attention is the Ignite. This is a team comprised of NBA veterans as well as some of the top high school prospects from the 2020 class, who decided to skip college and go straight to the NBA G League. Some of these top names include Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd, and Kai Sotto.

With all eyes on some of these future NBA stars, it will be easy to watch the Ingite as all 15 of their games will be aired on one of the ESPN network. This is setting up to be the most-watched G League season in NBA history.

The post Ignite Set To Headline NBA G League Bubble appeared first on SLAM.

The NBA G League Ignite is a new team this season that many of these recruits are playing for. On Tuesday night, they lost their first scrimmage of the season 113-107 against a team that was comprised of G League veterans. 

Among these young stars was Jonathan Kuminga, who produced 26 points and 8 rebounds. Additionally, Jalen Green scored 22 points on 15 shots.

Both Kuminga and Green should be lottery picks in the 2021 NBA Draft. As the NBA continues to look at ways to incentivize players to go straight to the G League out of high school, the success of these new teams is crucial.  

The post G League Ignite Fall Short in First Scrimmage appeared first on SLAM.

While we await his decision, enjoy Kuminga’s top highlights at the Patrick (NJ) School during the 2019-20 season.

The post Jonathan Kuminga: Kentucky, Duke, Auburn, Texas Tech or G League? appeared first on SLAM.

The school’s walls depict the rich history of its basketball program, which dates back to when it was located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, under the St. Patrick High School label. Kyrie Irving, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Al Harrington and Samuel Dalembert are among the NBA players who came out of there over the years. But in 2012, amid an ongoing battle with declining enrollment, the school shut down all operations. The following fall, a group of faculty came together to reopen the institution as an independent program known today as The Patrick School, which now operates out of Hillside, NJ. 

Kuminga, sitting at half court and looking around at all the retired jerseys hanging above the gym’s large windows, reminisces on his journey, which has taken him from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to West Virginia to Long Island, NY, and now to the Garden State in a matter of just three years. It’s a path that has allowed him to truly experience both ends of the spectrum when it comes to access to resources.  

“First of all, there is no money. There is no food,” says Kuminga of life back home in the Congo. “When I started playing, we used to walk far away to find [a court]. There aren’t gyms all over like you see here. [Here], you walk down two blocks and you find a gym, a park. You gotta walk like 45 minutes to get to wherever you gotta go to play [back home]. And then after that, you gotta make sure you get back home on time because [there’s] so much stuff out there. You might even find some people that are just going to see you on the road and stab you, try to kill you. It’s kind of dangerous.   

“It [helped] me because I’m doing that walk every day. Even my team back home, I was the young kid on the team—they started taking me to every trip because they liked that I was motivated to do that walk to come play.”

Basketball is deep-rooted in his family’s history. His parents hooped. His cousin, Emmanuel Mudiay, plays for the Utah Jazz. His other cousin, Omari Gudul, currently plays professionally in Romania for SCMU Craiova after having also played in France, Spain and Bulgaria. His older brother plays at Texas Tech after transferring from UNLV last spring.  

Kuminga says that he’s had a basketball around him ever since he could remember. He hooped for a local team back home. Eventually, it became clear that not only did he have a passion for it, but also had the skills to make something out of it. He was told that he needed to go play in the United States in order for him to reach his full potential. And so, at the tender age of 13, Kuminga boarded a U.S.-bound plane to follow his dreams—even though that meant having to be thousands of miles away from his family.

“That decision wasn’t that hard because when I used to play back home, our team used to go all over but not out [to other countries],” recalls the 6-8 forward. “We used to go around the country, so leaving my parents wasn’t that hard. The last day I heard I was going to come over, I made that decision. I was like, I gotta man up. I gotta grow up. I’m going to see them one day, so I just gotta come over and continue to reach my goal.”

After arriving in the States and playing at Huntington Prep (WV) as a freshman, the five-star recruit began to draw the attention of scouts and college coaches. He transferred to Our Savior New American in Centerreach, NY, for his sophomore year and averaged 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, including an event-record 40-point performance at the Slam Dunk to the Beach showcase. He was ultimately named the MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year, and after a strong showing in the Nike EYBL circuit this past summer, he is now rated as the No. 1 junior in America on ESPN’s rankings.   

“Back home they see me all over. It’s a big thing. They’re all happy for me. Everybody is super hyped, posting me all the time. That motivates me, too,” says Kuminga. “When I left home, I told my mom I was going to be number one in everything I do. I worked hard. That’s how I got to this point.”

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Franklyn Calle is an Associate Editor at SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @FrankieC7.

Portraits by Jon Lopez.

The post THE JOURNEY: Jonathan Kuminga Is Living Out His Hoop Dreams 🙏🏽 appeared first on SLAM.

Headlined by stars such as Chet Holmgren, Jonathan Kuminga and Daeshun Ruffin, this season’s junior class has serious top-end talent. But it’s this classe’ depth that really stands out. Peep the best summer highlights of the 2021 class in the video above!

RELATED: DUNK OF THE YEAR! Jonathan Kuminga vs Jalen Suggs

The post Who’s Your Favorite JUNIOR in the Country!? Class of 2021 is TOUGH 😤 appeared first on SLAM.

Farrakhan, a four-star guard in the 2020 class, and Kuminga, a five-star forward in the 2021 class, have enrolled to the St. Patrick School, which is Kyrie Irving’s alma mater, in New Jersey.

The post Noah Farrakhan & Jonathan Kuminga Team Up at Kyrie’s Irving Old School? 😳 appeared first on SLAM.

But the question that everyone was asking: Was Jimma Gatwech‘s under-the-legs dunk the best in-game dunk of the year?!

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The post Jalen Green & Josh Christopher vs Jonathan Kuminga 🏆 appeared first on SLAM.