Jonathan Kuminga’s rise over the past month has been one of the brighter developments for the Warriors in what’s been a rollercoaster of a season. But on Thursday night, that momentum hit a sudden and concerning pause.
Midway through the second quarter, Kuminga suffered a leg injury on an awkward plant while attacking the rim. It didn’t look good in real time, and the aftermath only added to the concern.
He exited the game almost immediately and was ruled out by halftime. Early reports suggested the injury wasn’t serious, but with an MRI scheduled for Friday, the Warriors-and their fans-are holding their breath.
Steve Kerr: “Such a shame, he was playing great”
After the game, head coach Steve Kerr addressed the situation, confirming that Kuminga was dealing with both knee and ankle discomfort. “I just talked to him,” Kerr said.
“He said he’s going to get an MRI. It was both the knee and the ankle.
We’ll see how bad it is. Such a shame, he was playing great and that definitely hurt, as well, not having him available for the second half.”
And Kerr’s not wrong-Kuminga was playing great. In just nine minutes on the floor, he was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, knocked down all four of his free throws, and had already tallied 10 points.
He finished with a +18 in plus-minus, the second-best mark on the team behind only De’Anthony Melton’s +22. That’s impressive in any context, but especially so considering how little time he had to make that kind of impact.
Kuminga’s Impact-and the Fit That’s Finally Starting to Click
What’s made Kuminga’s recent stretch so intriguing isn’t just the numbers-it’s how he’s getting them. Gone are the early-season possessions where he settled for contested jumpers or drifted on the perimeter.
Instead, he’s attacking the rim with purpose, leveraging his athleticism and strength to get downhill and finish through contact. It’s the version of Kuminga that fans and coaches have been hoping to see consistently.
He poured in 20 efficient points in 21 minutes during a blowout win over the Raptors, and followed that up with another strong showing-albeit a shortened one-before the injury. Thirty points in 30 minutes across two games on near-perfect shooting? That’s not just a hot streak; that’s a player who’s starting to figure things out.
The challenge has always been fit. Kuminga’s natural style-attacking off the dribble, creating with the ball in his hands-hasn’t always meshed with the Warriors’ motion-heavy offense, which revolves around Steph Curry’s gravity and constant movement. And when the team leans into pick-and-roll sets, it’s often been someone else (like Butler) handling the ball while Kuminga is relegated to a secondary role as a roller or spot-up shooter.
But that might be changing.
A New Role on the Horizon?
If Kuminga’s MRI comes back clean and he’s able to return soon, there’s a real argument to be made for a shift in how he’s used-particularly with the second unit. Butler’s absence has opened up a ball-handling and playmaking void, and Kuminga has shown flashes of being able to fill it. He’s not a traditional point-forward, but his ability to collapse defenses with straight-line drives could be exactly what that second group needs.
That second unit thrives on ball movement and attacking closeouts, but it’s struggled at times to generate offense in the halfcourt without a primary creator. Kuminga, if given the freedom to initiate more, could be the answer. His drives can create kickout opportunities, force defensive rotations, and give the bench group a much-needed jolt of rim pressure.
It’s a role that plays to his strengths-and one that could finally unlock the version of Kuminga the Warriors envisioned when they drafted him.
Bottom Line
The injury is a setback, no question. But if the MRI brings good news, the Warriors may have stumbled into a silver lining: a clearer vision of how Kuminga can be a difference-maker-not just in flashes, but consistently.
He’s shown he can produce. Now it’s about finding the right role to let him thrive.
And if Thursday night was any indication, the Warriors might be closer to that answer than they’ve been all season.