Two months later The Athletic reported that Jonathan Kuminga of the Warriors of the Golden State Having lost confidence in coach Steve Kerr, the 21-year-old striker wants to become a “warrior for life”.
In a 40 minute interview on the Dubs Talk podcast with Kerith Burke and Monte Poole, Kuminga said he would like to follow Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson And Draymond Green traces in the Bay Area. He also noted that Kobe Bryant, his favorite player, stayed on one team his entire career.
“When I look at these three people – Steph, Klay and Draymond – and I look at their pictures in the practice facility every day, I’m like, ‘This is where I want to be. I want to be there. I I want to play here all my life,” Kuminga said. “I mean, you don’t choose or control where you’re going to be, but obviously that’s the goal. That’s where I want to be. I want my name next to these guys one day, obviously.”
Kuminga continued: “I was recruited here. They always – the people are great, they always take care of me, they always help me grow as a person, so obviously I would love to be one Warriors for life. and never change. My favorite player was a Laker for life, so obviously I would love to be a Warrior for life.”
At the beginning of January, after a defeat against Denver Nuggets during which Kuminga only logged 19 minutes and sat on the bench from the middle of the third quarter until the final buzzer, he and Kerr had a conversation. On the podcast, Kuminga said Kerr’s message was consistent with their previous conversations.
“I mean, his message, it’s always the same thing, you know? He always wants to help me see the big picture,” Kuminga said. “And obviously I saw a bigger picture, but the way Steve is going to explain it, it’s much better, obviously, because he’s much older than me, he knows how life is, “He played basketball too. So just him telling me. That even everything I do well, he felt like I could do better.”
Kuminga said that, now, Kerr’s words are “like music playing in my head, and that’s what helps me come here and play freely and just be a great player.” He said Kerr put him “in a great situation to start having success,” and he denied ever losing faith in the Warriors.
“I haven’t lost confidence in being here,” Kuminga said. “That’s not what I said. It was just to the point where I felt like I needed to be there. I felt like I could help. I felt like “There was so much left on the table where I felt like me, the kids could go out there and help Steph, Klay and Draymond.”
Kuminga said he was “just trying to go out there and find a way to play, find a way to be on the field, find a way to help every kid get a chance. And, As you see, every kid gets a chance, including me, and we’re out there doing the things we were supposed to do.”
At the time, Golden State was 16-18 and Green had not yet returned from his suspension. Lineups with Kuminga and the attacker Andrew Wiggins was doing very poorly, and Kerr’s coaching staff was looking for five-man units that worked well on both ends. Since then, the Warriors have juggled a little more with the rotation, with a rookie Brandin Podziemski replacing Thompson in the starting lineup (until Curry’s recent ankle injury forced another change), and Green’s presence made the Kuminga-Wiggins duo viable. With Kuminga, Wiggins and Green on the court, Golden State has outscored opponents by 13.1 points per 100 possessions in 2024. There is one month left in the regular season and the Warriors are 34-31.
Over his last 28 games, Kuminga has averaged 20.5 points on 62% true shooting, plus 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks in 30.3 minutes . More importantly, he’s now comfortable enough to, in a light-hearted way, call out Kerr for yelling at him. On the podcast, Burke noted that when Kerr sees a lot of potential in players, he trains them harder, bringing in the former Golden State guard. Jordan Poole For example. “It’s worse than Jordan Poole,” Kuminga replied. “It’s worse.”
He continued: “There are definitely times where I feel like I’m doing well and Steve doesn’t think I’m doing well because he wants me to do better. There was a match I think , a few weeks ago, where he just took a timeout and yelled at me in front of everyone. And obviously, yell at me a few times and I’m used to it now, and I’m like, “Coach , I got you. Even though I didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just going to say, ‘It’s my fault, it’s my fault, next play, I’ll get you.'”
Kuminga hasn’t always been happy with his role, but he hasn’t seemed upset with the way Kerr and the other Warriors coaches push him.
“After the match, when I look back, I see the good result,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, it worked.'”
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