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Warriors announcer sends message to young teammate after final bench call

Harry November 5, 2024

January 15, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) walk to the bench at the end of the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images — Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Golden State Warriors Star Jonathan Kuminga was recently spoken of glowingly by former All-Star teammate Draymond Green after his well-documented fun early in the season.

Warriors: Draymond Green praises Jonathan Kuminga for overcoming slump

October 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (left) attempts to pass Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. (55) during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images — Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Like Anthony Slater of The Athletic Warriors star Draymond Green posted on (h/t Jack Slater at ClutchPoints):

“I don’t want him to like coming off the bench. He believes he’s a superstar; I believe he can be a superstar,” Green said of Kuminga after Saturday’s game. “And as long as you believe in that, it won’t be a problem for you to come off the bench. But how you react is important. You can respond by sulking, or you can do whatever you can to help the team win and be great, and that’s what he does.

“So we have to not only talk about his play, but we also have to talk about his maturity because he couldn’t have handled last year as well as he did,” Green continued. “But he’s gone through another year of growth and maturity and has had his best three games so far this season.”

Kuminga righted the ship behind Sixth Man of the Year-quality play

November 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) controls the ball against the Houston Rockets in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images — Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images

The DRC native had a slow start to the season, scoring a total of 24 points on poor 33.3% shooting and 11.1% three-point shooting in his first three starts. His underwhelming play even caused trade rumors to arise around his name. The Warriors reportedly He’s “more willing than ever” to move him to Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.

The 22-year-old, who has been on a tear since, came off the bench to gain nearly eight more minutes per game and turned that into 18.7 points on 51.4 percent shooting from the field, 4.3 RPG and one steal per game. and is shooting 42.9 percent from deep. Green knows how important it is to believe in himself to remain productive in the league. While Kuminga’s relegation to the second league was viewed as the right approach, the Michigan State product does not want his athletic young teammate to become complacent.

Fall is never a good thing. Still, Kuminga appears to be on the right track to regaining his starting spot, or at least doing what he will do in that capacity with the second quintet moving forward.