Jonathan Kuminga couldn’t get on the floor with the Golden State Warriors. In his first game with the Atlanta Hawks, he showed his old team — and the NBA world — what they were missing.
The 23-year-old forward scored 27 points in 24 minutes in his Hawks debut, adding seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in Atlanta’s 119-98 win over the Washington Wizards.
Jonathan Kuminga has a lot to prove in two months
The Warriors made Kuminga the No. 7 pick in 2021, but he was in and out of the lineup thanks to injuries and the whims of Warriors coach Steve Kerr. After a protracted holdout last summer during his restricted free agency, Kuminga signed a two-year deal with a team option for 2026-27.
Then, the Warriors benched him one week into December. It seemed clear the Warriors only saw Kuminga as trade bait, not a real piece of their future. That trade finally happened at the deadline, with Kuminga heading to the Hawks in exchange for Kristaps Porzingis.
He was still dealing with a nagging knee injury after the trade, but he gave the Hawks plenty to think about in his debut.