The NBA’s next generation of stars were on display Friday night in Cleveland during the Rising Stars challenge. In a showcase sprinkled with Bay Area flavor, Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga could only muster two points on four shot attempts.
Four teams comprised of the league’s top rookies, sophomores and G League prospects competed in a three-game mini-tournament. Kuminga suited up for honorary coach and Oakland hoops legend Gary Payton, father of his teammate Gary Payton II. But Team Payton suffered a 50-48 loss to a team coached by Warriors legend Rick Barry.
Kuminga missed his first three shots before knocking down a turnaround jumper over Jae’Sean Tate to tie the score at 42.
Kuminga didn’t get to play down the stretch before Team Barry eked out a close victory in a first-to-50 game that didn’t feature much defense.
While Warriors fans have got accustomed to seeing Kuminga throw down some rocket-fuel dunks over the past few weeks, he didn’t get the chance Friday. For his first shot attempt, Kuminga dribbled the ball through his legs and tried to get a long-range shot over No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham but it rimmed out. Kuminga missed another wide-open transition three and had another shot blocked by Alperen Sengun.
Though it wasn’t a productive night for Kuminga in the showcase, he still got to represent the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Warriors and his family on All-Star weekend.
