Warriors' Jonathan Kuminga practicing patience with hope for increased role
JK practicing patience with desire for increased Warriors role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Patience is a virtue, and that’s something Warriors young forward Jonathan Kuminga grew to learn over an emotional 2022-23 NBA season.
The 20-year-old’s role with Golden State in his second year in the league became a controversial concern as he witnessed his minutes significantly decrease, particularly in the playoffs.
When asked about it after the Warriors’ season came to a heartbreaking end Friday following a Game 6 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, Kuminga shared what he learned from the experience.
“I mean, I had to get adapted to it,” Kuminga told reporters Saturday. “You know, it was just my second year in the league, and I feel like the people that came back have established more, especially here. It's nothing I that really could do to change that. I just have to get used to it and that's it.”
While Andrew Wiggins took an extended absence away from the team while dealing with a family matter, Kuminga stepped up in his place for the nearly two months he was gone.
In the 22 games Kuminga played while Wiggins was out, he averaged 13.4 points on 56.3 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent from downtown while adding 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.1 minutes played.
But when Wiggins came back just in time for Golden State's playoff opener, Kuminga found himself back in the rearview of Kerr's rotation -- a seat he became all too familiar with for the rest of the postseason.
Even though he wasn’t able to showcase his athleticism and talent on the floor as much as he would have liked, Kuminga believes he “definitely” still was able to grow his game more this season.
“I mean, just a lot of people being out gave me chances to go out there and play a lot of minutes and kind of learn the game and being around the team more, and just playing more,” he said. “I feel like that really helped me, and knowing what I really need to work on coming back next season.”
What is one of those things he plans to improve on in the offseason? The versatile forward says he wants to improve his game all around, but is striving to “hopefully one day” rebound like Warriors beloved big man Kevon Looney.
As far as where his head is at heading into this offseason, Kuminga is going to continue doing what he's done all season: Stay patient and ready.
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He knows, and hopes, his time will come.
"It's not hard to practice patience," he said. "It's not. It just depends on people. You've just got to -- you've just got to be patient. I don't know how else I could say it. But you've got to know where you're at at some point, and you've got to know what the other people have established that's ahead of you. And as much as you're patient, a lot of things to change. A lot of things could come your way.
"So I feel like throughout the middle of the season, I was patient and things are changing and things are happening and I felt that helped me to go out there and perform because I was patient and my patience helped me to grind every day, to get better every day."
