Jonathan Kuminga will get his much deserved shine in the NBA Rising Stars game, after all.
Last week, Warriors superstar Klay Thompson said it was a “travesty” that Kuminga wasn’t selected to the NBA’s All-Star weekend showcase that pits the league’s best rookies, sophomores and G League players against one another. On Wednesday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Kuminga was selected as a replacement for the Indiana Pacers’ Chris Duarte.
Kuminga is now set to play in the exhibition that will tip off at 6 p.m. Friday and feature four teams playing in a three-game mini tournament.
The 19-year-old Kuminga was shuttling back and forth between Golden State and Santa Cruz of the G League earlier this year but has developed to the point where he’s earned coach Steve Kerr’s trust.
“JK has done a great job over the last month of making himself more and more valuable,” Kerr told 95.7 The Game on Tuesday. “He’s given himself a chance to enter the playoff rotation. Done a great job.”
Kuminga is only averaging 14.3 minutes in his 46 games (seven starts) this season. Despite being the No. 7 overall pick in last year’s draft, Kuminga has had to fight for minutes on the Warriors, who will tote the NBA’s second-best record heading into the All-Star break. He is averaging 7.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the floor. If you extrapolate his numbers to per 36 minutes splits, Kuminga is the top scoring rookie in the league.
Kuminga is a versatile defender and also one of the most explosive athletes in the NBA, so fans will probably get to see some high-flying dunks in Friday’s showcase.
With Kuminga, the Warriors now have five players tied to the All-Star weekend festivities. Juan Toscano-Anderson will take part in Saturday’s Slam Dunk contest, while Steph Curry and Andrew Wiggins will start Sunday’s All-Star game as injured Draymond Green (calf/back) will remain sidelined.
