Jonathan Kuminga made history in the Golden State Warriors' rousing 134-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
The third-year forward scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds, swiped two steals and blocked two shots at Chase Center, staking a forceful claim as the best player on the floor. But Kuminga's dominant performance will live in franchise record books because he went a perfect 11-of-11 from the field, tying a mark set by Hall-of-Famer Chris Mullin in 1990 for the most makes without a miss in Warriors history.
“It feels great. It’s crazy because Chris Mullin’s really my guy,” he said after the game. “Tying him is really cool. It’s a blessing. I’m really happy that happened.”
Jonathan Kuminga credits Draymond Green for continued growth
Draymond Green made headlines over the summer when he admitted to “not knowing” Kuminga. During his July appearance on Podcast P with Paul George, Golden State's veteran loudmouth explained how he'd learned from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo that it was impossible to “lead” teammates without really getting to know them.
A few days later, team insider Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area reported the relationship between Green and Kuminga was a “problem” that people around the league questioned could be fixed. Keeping Green's owns words and that intel in mind, would anyone really have been surprised if the lacking connection between them was nearly severed entirely by Kuminga continuing to level up in the team hierarchy as Green dealt from the fallout of multiple suspensions?
Instead, Green has rewarded Golden State's $100 million faith in him by taking Kuminga under his wing. Explaining his burgeoning confidence and comfort on the postgame podium, Kuminga credited Green for some advice he doled out at one of the Warriors' recent practices.
“I’m definitely gaining confidence from everybody, mostly Draymond, every single day just telling me what I need to do. I remember a couple days ago in practice I was hesitating a lot, and he was like, ‘That used to happen to me a lot. So if you gotta pass, just pass, if you gotta attack, attack. Don’t overthink,'” Kuminga said. “And I feel like that’s stuck in my head where every time I’m about to do something I remember Draymond telling me, ‘Just be who you are. Don’t overthink,’ and that’s kind of helped me.”
Kuminga clearly listened to Green's guidance, playing with more control and composure against Atlanta than he ever has while maintaining a pointed sense of aggression. The result was Kuminga proving virtually unstoppable in the paint and around the rim, abusing the Hawks with patient post-ups, powerful Euro-steps, crafty step-throughs and high-level reads as a pick-and-roll operator. He wasn't just a scorer, either, on multiple occasions drawing double-teams from the block or inverted ball screens before making advantage passes to teammates.
Maybe most indicative of Kuminga heeding Green's advice by simply ‘being who he is?' The 21-year-old didn't take a single three-pointer on Wednesday, his only shot outside the paint a smooth, face-up jumper over the outstretched arms of Jalen Johnson.
“Just thrilled with JK’s progression, how much he’s maturing and understanding what’s going on,” Steve Kerr said after the game. “It’s beautiful to watch.”
The Warriors, obviously, haven't come close to reaching their peak this season. It still might be too late to vault toward true title contention even if they somehow manage to scrape it consistently.
But as the possibility of a mostly quiet trade deadline ostensibly increases, Kuminga's ongoing growth might be Golden State's biggest reason for optimism going forward despite an ever-tumultuous and what still seems likely to be disappointing 2023-24 season. After all, what a difference six months makes—just ask Kuminga about his relationship with Green.
“Even throughout the game he always talk to me and just explain to me what I need to do better,” he said. “I really appreciate Draymond just doing that every single day.”
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