"League is afraid of those two people": Jonathan Kuminga credits Steph Curry & Klay Thompson after close win
Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga continues to develop his offensive game in his third year in the NBA. He credits it to being teammates with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
The former NBA G League standout shared his thoughts following their 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Jonathan Kuminga said during the post-game interview on the court:
"We got Steph. We got Klay. Everybody in this league is afraid of those two people. So just knowing how to play with them just open a lot of things.”
Kuminga (21) had a solid scoring game against Orlando Magic, finishing with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 34 minutes.
His output complemented the performance of Curry, who led the team with 36 points with Thompson adding 15 of his own.
The contest was tightly fought right from the get-go before the Warriors pulled away late in the match to secure the victory. It halted their three-game losing streak, improving them to a 16-17 record for the season.
The defeat, meanwhile, was the second straight loss for the Magic, who dropped to a 19-14 record, and are now fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Jonathan Kuminga confident of offensive abilities
Selected seventh overall in the 2021 draft by the Warriors, the Congolese forward has steadily improved his scoring output and expressed readiness to pick it up further, provided he is given the opportunity to create shots.
He shared in a recent interview with The Athletic, Kuminga said:
“I’ma keep it real with you. Me with the ball, nobody’s guarding me.”
Kuminga is however, cognizant that with Curry and Thompson still around doing their thing on offense, he has to remain patient and balance things out.
In the ongoing NBA campaign, Kuminga is going for career-highs of 12.5 points and four rebounds in 21.8 minutes. But more than the numbers, he has become a more important component in the Golden State rotation following the departure of some players.
“’JK’s been fantastic. I think this is the best stretch of basketball he’s ever played,’ said Warriors head coach Steve Kerr of Kuminga.”