SAN FRANCISCO — The residual swelling in Jonathan Kuminga’s recovering right ankle was the toughest aspect of the final stage of his slow rehab, he said. For the last couple weeks, grimacing through workouts and icing his ankle afterward, he started to jump and cut and move like himself.
“We were never going to rush him,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He was able to get four or five scrimmages the last couple weeks. His last two scrimmages you could see were noticeably better. He looked like he had that pop back.”
The Warriors now have that pop back in their lineup. Kuminga, who was finally given the Rick Celebrini green light, returned in a 130-104 Thursday night blowout win over the Sacramento Kings. Kuminga went for 18 points in 20 minutes, living at the rim against a Kings defense springing leaks all over while selling out to contain Steph Curry.
“What you notice is the different dimension he gives us with his explosion,” Kerr said.
Kuminga punctuated the runaway win with three fourth-quarter dunks in a two-minute stretch. All three were highlight finishes, leveraging the extra attention Curry draws.
Here’s the first. Curry gets a high screen from Gui Santos, draws the double and pings it over to Draymond Green on the right wing. Green has to angle to drop it to a cutting Santos in space. Malik Monk, the low man, is forced to rotate, leaving Kuminga to feast in the dunker spot.
For the second dunk, Kuminga began as the inbounder on the baseline. He got it over to Moses Moody in the corner and then found a seam on a quick baseline cut away from Jake LaRavia, his defender. Kuminga’s sense of when and where to slash has improved dramatically the past two seasons.
On the back side of the play, Keegan Murray is in position to slide over and help, but Sacramento’s scheme has him glued to Curry. After the Kuminga dunk, watch Curry mock Murray as he points to where he could’ve been in a help scenario.
Here’s Kuminga’s third dunk in slow-motion. It’s one of the Warriors’ better Curry-related actions, always working more spectacularly with a lob threat like Kuminga. He passes the ball from the top of the key to Green on the left wing and then cuts into a back screen from Curry. Zach LaVine is caught on the screen. Murray won’t leave Curry. That leaves Kuminga a runway for an easy alley-oop from Green.
Kuminga also provided some self creation in his 20 minutes, getting to the rim in transition a few times and working his way to the line for six free throws. Considering he’d missed 31 straight games and more than two months, this was about as encouraging a return as the Warriors could’ve scripted.
“I’ve never got hurt the way I did and I didn’t know what it was until our staff told me that it’s something that’s going to take a little longer than usual,” Kuminga said. “A lot of people didn’t know what it was, but we knew it wasn’t just a simple ankle (sprain). It just took longer than the usual ankle because it was pretty bad.”
Kuminga said he had some nervousness before his return. During his absence, the team traded for Jimmy Butler and surged up the standings. They’re 12-1 with Butler in the lineup, including 11 consecutive wins. It was natural for him to wonder whether his return would mess up their momentum.
“We’ve been in a groove,” Green said. “But I don’t think there’s a soul in this building that thought just because we’re in a groove we didn’t need him back. We needed him back in a major way.”
Draymond Green on Jonathan Kuminga
“We’ve been in a groove, but I don’t think there’s a soul in this building that thought just because we’re in a groove we didn’t need him back. We needed him back in a major way.” pic.twitter.com/8tTLnBEhLY
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 14, 2025
Kuminga’s minutes restriction limited Kerr’s ability to use him in large doses and specific lineups. He was barely able to preview the foursome that will presumably make up their closing unit on most nights: Curry, Butler, Green and Kuminga. The question will be who slots in as the fifth closer.
“My gut is (Brandin Podziemski) should be with that lineup,” Kerr said. “But maybe I’m thinking about it wrong. I’m thinking about BP’s playmaking. But with Draymond and Jimmy, maybe we have enough playmaking and can put a shooter out there — Moses or Buddy (Hield). That’s definitely a lineup we are thinking about.”
Those answers will come in the next 16 games before the playoffs, as the Warriors experiment with Kuminga-infused lineup combinations and try to maintain a top-six seed.
Jimmy Butler on Jonathan Kuminga
“High energy. Jumping out the gym, dunking the basketball. I want him to be him.” pic.twitter.com/dPYXUjNyYQ
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 14, 2025
(Photo: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
