The Golden State Warriors traded D’Angelo Russel to the Minnesota Timberwolves for All-Star starter Andrew Wiggins, a 2nd round pick, and a protected 1st round pick. That 1st round pick turned out to be 7th in the 2021 draft. With the 7th pick, the Golden State Warriors picked up Jonathan Kuminga from the G-league ignite. In his 13 games in the G-league, Kuminga averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Jonathan Kuminga did not make the rotation as soon as he was drafted. However, he made his way into the rotation and has had some huge games for the bay. He’s become one of the best rookies in the league and NBA players are taking notice of it.
Jayson Tatum gives out high praise for Jonathan Kuminga
Jonathan Kuminga is averaging 9 points per game this season. However, this low average has been directly due to the grind of him making his way into the rotation. This season Jonathan Kuminga has scored 20+ points in 4 games with 20+ games scoring 10+ points. All these points have come off the bench in a team full of scorers.
Tonight against the reigning NBA champions, Milwaukee Bucks, the Warriors won with a final score of 122-109. Kuminga scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. This performance was not his best but enough to make a fan in Boston.
Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics tweeted this after seeing Kuminga play,
Kuminga went be very good for a long time
— Jayson Tatum (@jaytatum0) March 13, 2022
Jonathan Kuminga saw the tweet and was extremely appreciative and happy with the support of a fellow NBA player. He said this in a post-game interview,
Kuminga appreciated the shoutout from Jayson Tatum ???? pic.twitter.com/341dD3VRti
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 13, 2022
Jayson Tatum will get to watch Kuminga’s play up close when the Warriors take on the Boston Celtics this Wednesday night. We might see them play each other in a 1v1 situation because of how the matchups might pan out. That would be the best way for Tatum and the NBA world to find out if Tatum’s words held value or not.
