Steve Kerr’s approachability helped elevate Jonathan Kuminga’s game
Earlier this season, it was reported that Jonathan Kuminga had “lost faith” in Steve Kerr. The rumor surfaced after the third-year forward was struggling to nail down a consistent role in Kerr’s rotation. However, Kuminga has now emerged as an integral part of the Golden State Warriors starting lineup and is arguably their second option on offense behind Steph Curry.
During a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Monte Poole, Kuminga revealed that some tough conversations with Kerr helped put things in perspective. He also credited Kerr’s tenure as a player in the league as a reason why the veteran head coach was able to get his message across.
“It’s always about the same thing, he always wants to help me to see the bigger picture,” Kuminga shared. “And obviously, I saw the bigger picture, but the way Steve explained it, it’s way better because he’s way older than me, he knows how life goes, he played basketball too. It’s just him telling me even everything I did good he felt I could do it better. So just him making me understand that every single day… I did not lose faith with being here. It’s not what I said. It was just definitely to a point where I felt like I need to be out there, I feel like I could help.”
Kuminga, 21, has played in 64 games for the Warriors this season. He’s averaging 16.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 52.9% from the field and 31.7% from 3-point range.
If some tough conversations with Kerr are what it took to get Kuminga to his current level and work toward realizing his potential, then the friction that likely resided within the locker room was undoubtedly worth it.
