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Kuminga yearning, learning in rookie season with Warriors

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Warriors rookie Jonathan Kuminga lead all players Thursday with 10-of- 12 made free-throw attempts. Postgame he said that he ‘doesn’t need to shoot,’ since he’s surrounded by the ‘greatest’ shooters in the game.

SAN FRANCISCO – The arc of Jonathan Kuminga’s climb from impetuous rookie to all-ears student has been steep and fast and not without curious moments. The childish adventures of the first couple months are, however, being overtaken by long strides and soaring flights toward professionalism.

Kevon Looney, one of Kuminga’s veteran teammates on the Warriors, has a theory about the youngster’s rapid development.

“His locker is next to me and Andre’s (Iguodala),” Looney says, “so he hears it from both sides.

“He’s a good listener. He takes in what we tell him. At first, it seemed like he might have been a little stubborn about it. But he’s really been listening.”

That was the early word on Kuminga, a gifted teenager from the Democratic Republic of the Congo dropped into the Bay Area, afforded NBA surroundings and a lifestyle unlike any he had experienced. The was massive promise but moderate willingness to learn, a deep desire to show his game but fits of indifference toward nurturing basic skills.

Kuminga had some late arrivals, as Draymond Green pointed out, and there were a couple irritating instances of immaturity. Head-scratching times, under such circumstances, are not unusual.

Now, in his fifth month in the league, JK clearly is immersed in the process of transformation. His progress is substantial and breathtaking.

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“It’s night and day,” Looney says. “At the start of the season, he seemed a little lost. Kind of confused on where he was going to get his shots, what his role was going to be and how he was going to make an impact on this team. But he’s doing a good job, watching a lot of film, studying the game, studying his position and his role.”

And it shows. Though clearly a relatively new student to the game of basketball, with much to learn, Kuminga, 19 years old and in his fifth month as a pro already has become too impactful for the Warriors to keep on the bench.

Month after month, there is a dramatic increase in production and efficiency, accompanied by a sharp reduction in the number of occasions when coach Steve Kerr and his staff would get annoyed with Kuminga’s mental lapses.

“He’s always had an unfailing confidence and belief in himself,” Kerr says. “What needed to happen was his knowledge of the NBA and his awareness of what was happening needed to match his level of confidence.

“Early in the season, he felt like he belonged out there. And athletically, there’s no doubt he did. But he didn’t understand everything that goes into winning.”

Kerr recalls a graphic example Kuminga’s growing grasp of the game. When the Kings visited the Warriors at Chase Center back on Feb. 3, Klay Thompson got off to a scorching start, making his first six shots, the last two being 3-pointers 41 seconds apart. He was in The Klay Zone.

Enter Kuminga. On the next Golden State possession, while as JK has the ball, Klay works himself open and teammates are yelling for the ball to go to Klay. Kuminga, blissfully oblivious, jacks up a 3 that misses. Next time down, Stephen Curry shoots a dime to Klay, who drains another 3-ball.

Precisely three weeks later, on Thursday in a win at Portland, Kuminga contributes 17 points on seven shots – while going 10-of-12 from the line – eight rebounds and a few postgame words of wisdom.

“I’m going to keep it real: the team doesn’t really need me to shoot,” he said. “We have seven shooters and two of them are the best shooters in the league. I don’t need to be out there taking threes. I can get to the line really easy.”

From his mouth to the ears of a franchise, which responded with a collective smile wide enough to stretch from Salinas to Santa Rosa.

“That’s a giant light bulb that went off sometime in the last month,” Kerr says now. “But that’s how it’s supposed to happen. You can’t just say, ‘All right, here’s the NBA. By tomorrow, I want you to . . ..” You just have to go through it and feel it. 

“He’s earned minutes and, over time, as he has earned minutes, he’s used those minutes to improve and recognize patterns defensively, to recognize what our plan is offensively. To figure out what his role is. To figure out where he can fit in with the rest of the guys and still make really dominant plays and take over a game physically.

“He’s figuring it all out before our eyes. It’s really, really exciting to see.”

Draymond, ever the deep thinker, reminds all that JK’s backstory – left Africa at 15 to come to the United States and play basketball, attended three high schools in three different states, signed with the G-League Ignite in 2020 – is too complicated to be dismissed. It’s a glimpse into what he has or has not been, what he might or might not know.

“No one ever talks about what a guy has gone through in life before they come here, and how that could affect you,” Green says. “As a person. As a player. As a student of the game. No one talks about that side of things. So, just to see his growth, to see him wanting to learn, you have an appreciation for that, and you want to help more and more.

“He’s been fantastic. His game is continuing to improve and continuing to help this team in different ways. You can see the growth on both ends of the floor.”

RELATED: Draymond: Warriors shouldn't 'exhaust themselves' for No. 1 seed

Kuminga's averages in October/November: 3.0 points (44.4 percent from the field), 1.7 rebounds and 7.3 minutes.

In December: 7.5 points (56.3), 1.4 rebounds and 12.4 minutes. In January: 9.0 (45.6), 4.0 and 16.3.

In February: 15.4 (58.8), 4.8 and 26.4.

The ascent indicates that JK had to discover for himself how hard it is to be a good, much less great, player in the NBA. His potential has become obvious, and if his mind and ears remain open, there’s an excellent chance he can get there.

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