On a night where the Golden State Warriors fell to the lowly Pelicans, Jonathan Kuminga went off for a season-high 27 points in his Hawks debut. He wasted no time reminding his former team what it had given up. It was a dream for him, but a nightmare for the Warriors.
Yes, Kuminga and the Hawks beat the bottom-dweller Wizards, who are still waiting for Trae Young and Anthony Davis to make their debuts, but he couldn't have had a better start to his time on the East Coast.
He came off the bench at the midway mark of the first quarter for Jalen Johnson, Atlanta's All-Star, who left the game with a hip injury and didn't return, paving the way for Kuminga to take over.
His first points as a Hawk came off a fast break layup, and his next happened when Zaccharie Risacher found him in transition for a dunk that brought the crowd to their feet. The forward finished the quarter with a three-pointer, tallying seven points and four assists.
It was already evident at that point that it'd be a big game for Kuminga, who shot 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from three. He added seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals in just 24 minutes of action, as he exited the game in the fourth quarter with over six minutes left to play, and a big lead over Washington.
Former Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga shines in Hawks debut
Atlanta and Golden State are on two different paths (it's not championship-or-bust for the Hawks), with the Warriors fighting to stay in the top half of play-in tournament range, so they'd have two chances to win one game to advance to the first round of the playoffs. They're still in No. 8 after the loss, but have only a 2.5-game lead over the No. 9 Trail Blazers and No. 10 Clippers.
After watching Golden State lose to New Orleans, a team that started 37-year-old DeAndre Jordan (he is an NBA champion!), it was hard not to think about how the outcome would've changed if Kuminga were still suiting up for the Warriors, especially with Steph Curry and Kristaps Porziņġis out.
Instead, Kuminga was busy at State Farm Arena. In the span of a few hours, Hawks fans tossed former No. 1 pick Risacher to the side for Kuminga. He gave them another reason to be hopeful for the future, and it's worth noting that his is still hanging in the balance, as he has a team option Atlanta will decide on during the offseason.
This could be the start of something special for Kuminga and the Hawks. While it was nice to see the 23-year-old look genuinely happy on Tuesday after how the past few years had gone for him, his departure already stings a lot more than fans hoped it would. If he unlocks his potential in Atlanta, Golden State will look even more foolish for how it handled his situation.