The time has finally come. Barring any setbacks, Jonathan Kuminga will return to the Golden State Warriors lineup on Thursday night against the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center.
As first reported by ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday, Kuminga is set to return following a long 31-game absence after the young forward suffered a severe ankle sprain against the Memphis Grizzlies on January 4.
Jonathan Kuminga is set to make his long-awaited return to the Warriors
The 22-year-old's return has taken far longer than many fans would have hoped, with initial projections that he could have been back either side of the All-Star break or even earlier around the trade deadline.
Instead, that's extended to a period of well over two months as Kuminga now prepares to re-integrate to a team that's playing their best basketball of the season. Kuminga himself was playing the best basketball of his career prior to the untimely injury, having led Golden State in scoring at 24.3 points on 52.7% shooting while adding 8.0 rebounds in the previous six full games.
Kuminga will now have 17 games in which to re-establish his role and further strengthen a Warrior team that's now 12-2 since the acquisition of 6x All-Star Jimmy Butler. Kuminga's play alongside Butler will in itself be a fascinating sub-plot over the remainder of the season, while the former seventh overall pick has also yet to play next to impressive rookie center Quinten Post.
Given the way in which Butler has positively impacted other Warrior young players like Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody, and the way in which Post's 3-point shooting can draw opposing bigs out of the lane, there's optimism that this environment will be a better one for Kuminga than the one he left in early January.
On the other hand, Steve Kerr is going to face some tough challenges on who exactly loses minutes upon Kuminga's return. The Warriors are 15-1 with Moses Moody in the starting lineup this season, Gui Santos was the unsung hero of Saturday's win over the Detroit Pistons, and Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield combined for an extraordinary 46 points off the bench in Monday's win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kuminga's return will come as Golden State continue to try and solidify their top six spot in the Western Conference standings. The Warriors are nine games above .500 at 37-28, but are just half a game ahead of the seventh-seed Minnesota Timberwolves and 1.5 games ahead of the eight-seed L.A. Clippers.