The Golden State Warriors have a lot going on. First of all, superstar guard Stephen Curry is doing ridiculous stuff, as per usual, perhaps best captured in the photo below.
Confident much, Mr. Curry?
As always, Curry has reason to be. But additionally, the Warriors own the NBA’s best record early in the campaign; Curry’s Splash Bro, Klay Thompson, is on track to scrimmage soon and return before the year’s end; second-year phenom James Wiseman is also set to return soon from injury and provide the team with much-needed size; and Golden State leads the NBA in defense thus far, led by star forward Draymond Green.
All of that news demands recognition before one even considers rookie F Jonathan Kuminga. At just 19 years old — but with the NBA body of a grown man — he has the potential to help take the Warriors to another level. So says Green, anyway.
“Every time he comes into a game, I’m just telling him to make an impact, whatever that means. If that’s defensively, if that’s getting to the rim, if that’s making good passes,” Warriors power forward Draymond Green said. “If this team is going to continue to go to new levels, we need him to grow fast and bring something to this team that we don’t necessarily have. That’s a 6-8 guy who is probably one of the best athletes in the league already.”
San Francisco Chronicle
Think about that: “… we need him to … bring something to this team that we don’t necessarily have.”
I agree with Green, 100 percent. Kuminga’s elite athleticism and surprisingly competent basketball IQ for such a yong player could bring the Warriors to new heights, especially during the playoffs when physicality reigns supreme. The thought of Kuminga making nightly runs to the rim thanks to Curry’s gravity could have opponents scrambling for answers.
Kuminga doesn’t have to do much other than that. He simply has to compliment the Warriors’ already stacked roster. Coach Steve Kerr seems to know this, thankfully (Kerr should have brought Wiseman along slowly too, but at least that’s the plan for Wiseman this season. And in Kerr’s defense, the roster wasn’t “stacked” last year).
So with so much going right for the Warriors thus far in 2021-22, can we afford one more big-time sports story in the Bay Area? You bet we can. Green expects to see more from Kuminga. Kerr does too. Ditto for Curry. So sit back and enjoy the show, Dub Nation, if you can keep track of it all. It appears to be a special era in Golden State.
Bay Area Sports Hub 