Golden State Warriors: Jonathan Kuminga is finally starting to blossom

Since the injury to Draymond Green in early January, the Warriors have had struggles, to say the least. Losing an all-time great defender as well as the facilitator for the team has been a difficult adjustment for them.

None of these problems have been due to Jonathan Kuminga. The rookie has made this transition much easier, taking many of the minutes at the power forward position that Green played. Kuminga has played over 25 minutes three times during this span.

Warriors’ rookie Jonathan Kuminga has been on a tear in recent weeks, starting to show much of the potential that caused him to be drafted seventh overall.

Since January 6th, the Warriors forward has averaged 13.1 points per game on 50.6% from the field, making his presence felt on offense while shooting well above the league average of 45.4%.

Also occurring through this 9-game stretch, Kuminga has shot 42.3% from beyond the three-point arc, becoming a legit threat to space the floor.

Kuminga has led the Warriors in scoring twice during this stretch. This includes the game against Dallas where he dropped 22 points and had the biggest play of the game.

Scoring isn’t the only thing that Jonathan Kuminga contributes to the Warriors roster.

In that same 9-game stretch lasting since January 6, Kuminga has averaged 5 rebounds per game as well, including a career-high 10 rebounds in his first career double-double on the 18th versus Detroit.

That game solidified Kuminga as the second youngest Warrior to ever post a double-double in a game, trailing only Andris Biedriņš.

Kuminga has also visibly improved defensively, rarely finding himself in the wrong place on that end of the floor. While he may not be the type of defender to put up big stats just yet, he did have a game with 3 blocks and a steal against Chicago.

Visually the young rookie has also made great reads, finding plenty of open shooters but has only put up 1.1 assists per game due to the cold streak suffered by the Warriors since the beginning of December.

Jonathan Kuminga still has plenty of room to grow but has started to come into his own as an NBA player. Only time will tell how truly great he will become. The sky is the limit for the dynamic forward.