The Warriors selected Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. During his rookie season, he won an NBA championship with the team.
Early life
Kuminga began playing basketball in the Democratic Republic of the Congo at age two.[1] In 2016, he moved to the U.S. to play high school basketball.[2]
As a high school sophomore, Kuminga emerged as one of the best recruits in the 2021 class, with most recruiting services ranking him first in his class by the time he was a junior.[11] On July 15, 2020, he reclassified to the 2020 class and announced that he would bypass college basketball to join the NBA G League Ignite over offers from Texas Tech, Auburn, Duke and Kentucky, among other college programs.[12] At the end of his high school career, he was a consensus five-star recruit and the best small forward in the 2020 class. He was considered the third-best player in his class by Rivals.com and the fourth best by 247Sports.com and ESPN after reclassifying.[13][14][15]
On July 15, 2020, Kuminga signed a one-year contract with the NBA G League Ignite, a developmental team affiliated with the NBA G League.[16] On February 10, 2021, he made his debut, recording 19 points, four assists and four rebounds in a 110–104 win over the Santa Cruz Warriors.[17] Kuminga averaged 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.[18]
Golden State Warriors (2021–present)
The Golden State Warriors drafted Kuminga as the 7th pick in the 2021 NBA draft.[19] On August 3, 2021, he signed with the Warriors.[20] On October 30, Kuminga made his NBA debut, putting up three points and one steal in a 103–82 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.[21] On December 18, in his first career start, Kuminga put up a then career-high 26 points in a 119–100 loss to the Toronto Raptors.[22] On February 18, 2022, Kuminga participated in the Rising Stars Challenge game for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game weekend, replacing the injured Chris Duarte.[23][24][25] Kuminga ended his rookie season as an NBA champion after the Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.[26] At 19 years and 253 days, he became the second-youngest NBA champion, behind Darko Miličić.[27] On January 24, 2024, Kuminga scored 25 points on a perfect 11-for-11 from the field in a victory against the Atlanta Hawks. This performance tied Chris Mullin's Warriors franchise record for the most made shots in a game without a miss.[28]
Kuminga's older brother, Joel Ntambwe, played college basketball for UNLV before transferring to Texas Tech in 2019.[1][31] Two of his cousins play professional basketball: Emmanuel Mudiay in Puerto Rico,[32] and Omari Gudul in Europe.[33] Kuminga's first language is French, and he is continuing to learn English.[1]
^Calle, Franklyn (November 22, 2019). "THE JOURNEY: Jonathan Kuminga Is Living Out His Hoop Dreams 🙏🏽". SLAM. Retrieved March 18, 2024. His other cousin, Omari Gudul, currently plays professionally in Romania for SCMU Craiova after having also played in France, Spain and Bulgaria.