Jonathan Kuminga was benched by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr before Tuesday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans and he responded by playing a key role in their 124-106 win. Kuminga was asked during his postgame interview about the maturity he showed and stressed the importance of staying professional.
“It’s just the game of basketball,” Kuminga said. “At the end of the day, we always got to stay professional. That’s what we do. Just come out here every day and just play. That’s what we choose to do every day, no matter what circumstance, no matter what’s happening. Got to come here and just be a professional and play the game of basketball, the game that you love, and go home. It’s that simple.”
Staying professional and letting his game do the talking is exactly what Kuminga needs to be doing moving forward. Against the Pelicans, the 22-year-old had 17 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. He was effective on both ends of the court and the Warriors would want to see more of that from him.
Kuminga struggled in the first three games of this 2024-25 season, to say the least. He averaged just 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 33.3% from the field.
It was getting clear that having Kuminga, Draymond Green, and Trayce Jackson-Davis in that starting lineup might not be a good idea. All three of them aren’t great shooters and one of them had to make way. It was going to be between Green and Kuminga, and Kerr chose to bench the latter.
Funnily enough, Kuminga ended up playing more minutes against the Pelicans in that bench role than he had in the three previous games as a starter. Kerr had mentioned before the game that the forward would get plenty of game time despite the benching and he was out there for just over 28 minutes.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kuminga spends much of this season coming off the bench unless Green gets injured or suspended. If that is how things pan out and he doesn’t get high minutes consistently, you wonder if he asks out before the deadline.
While Kuminga, who was drafted with the seventh pick of the 2021 NBA Draft by the Warriors, spoke about staying professional, this is a contract year for him. He would want more opportunities to show what he is capable of and get that big deal next offseason.
Jonathan Kuminga Credited Draymond Green For Sparking Warriors’ Comeback
The Warriors had a rough first quarter against the Pelicans and trailed heading into halftime as well, but then dominated in the second half to come away with the win. Kuminga was asked what led to that turnaround and he pointed to Green.
“It all starts with Draymond,” Kuminga said. “Draymond came into the locker room and told all of us, ‘They’re looking good right now but once we put pressure, they’re all going to fade.’ And that’s the same thing that happened. You saw it.
“We all came out here with one mindset, just putting pressure on defense,” Kuminga added. “He said it, ‘As long as we put pressure on defense, the offense will be easy.’ So that’s what we came out here and do.”
Green’s impact on this team goes well beyond the numbers he puts up. The Warriors won that second half 77-55 following that speech and cruised to victory at the end. With the win, they have now improved to 3-1 on the season.
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