Jonathan Malangu Kuminga (born October 6, 2002) is a Congolese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Golden State Warriors of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). A consensus five-star

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and the top

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

in the 2021 class, he chose to forgo his

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

eligibility and reclassify to the 2020 class to join the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite is a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Based in Henderson, Nevada, the team was designed to play exhibition games outside the G League's traditional scheduling as part of a one-year development program for e ...

. Kuminga finished his high school career at

The Patrick School The Patrick School is an independent private co-educational four-year high school in Hillside in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The school was established in 2012 following the closure of St. Patrick High School Academy, which was ...

in Hillside, New Jersey. The Warriors selected Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA u ...

. During his rookie season, he won an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

with the team.

Early life

Kuminga began playing basketball in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

at age two. In 2016, he moved to the U.S. to play high school basketball.

High school career

As a freshman, Kuminga played basketball for

Huntington Prep School Huntington Prep or Huntington St. Joseph Prep is a basketball-focused college preparatory school located in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington Prep was originally unrelated to the public Huntington High School located in the same city, thoug ...

in Huntington, West Virginia. For his sophomore season, he transferred to Our Savior New American School in

Centereach, New York Centereach () is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 31,578 at the 2010 census. History The hamlet of Centereach was first called West Middle Island, but primarily became known a ...

and averaged 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. In January 2019, Kuminga was named most valuable player of the Slam Dunk to the Beach showcase after scoring 40 points, a single-game record at the event, in a loss to

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 1 ...

. He earned MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year honors. After the season, Kuminga averaged 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the NY Rens at the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

, facing many players older than him. He scored 43 points, shooting 7 of 11 from three-point range, against the Texas Titans, a team featuring top recruits

Cade Cunningham Cade Parker Cunningham (born September 25, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Bowie High School in his hometown of Arlington, Texas, before tran ...

and Greg Brown. For his junior season, Kuminga transferred to

in Hillside, New Jersey. On December 23, 2019, he made his season debut, scoring 20 points in a win over

Roselle Catholic High School Roselle may refer to: * Roselle (plant), a species of hibiscus (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') **A drink made from that plant, also called "Hibiscus tea" Roselle is the/a name of: ; People * Mike Roselle - American environmental activist and author ; ...

, after having been ruled ineligible for 30 days by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association due to transfer rules. On January 3, 2020, Kuminga suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him for about a month. As a junior, he averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Recruiting

As a high school sophomore, Kuminga emerged as one of the best recruits in the 2021 class, with most recruiting services ranking him first in his class by the time he was a junior. On July 15, 2020, he reclassified to the 2020 class and announced that he would bypass college basketball to join the

over offers from

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

, Auburn,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, among other college programs. At the end of his high school career, he was a consensus five-star recruit and the best

in the 2020 class. He was considered the third-best player in his class by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and the fourth-best by 247Sports.com and

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after reclassifying .

Professional career

NBA G League Ignite (2020–2021)

On July 15, 2020, Kuminga signed a one-year contract with the

, a developmental team affiliated with the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. On February 10, 2021, he made his debut, recording 19 points, four assists and four rebounds in a 110–104 win over the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior t ...

. Kuminga averaged 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Golden State Warriors (2021–present)

The Golden State Warriors drafted Kuminga as the 7th pick in the

. On August 3, 2021, he signed with the Warriors. On October 30, Kuminga made his NBA debut, putting up three points and one steal in a 103–82 win over the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. On December 18, in his first career start, Kuminga put up a career-high 26 points in a 119–100 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. On February 18, 2022, Kuminga participated in the

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- an ...

game for the 2022 NBA All-Star Game weekend, replacing the injured Chris Duarte. Kuminga ended his rookie season as an NBA champion after the Warriors defeated the Boston Celtics in the

2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Golden State War ...

. At 19 years and 253 days, he became the second youngest NBA champion, behind Darko Milicic.

National team career

In August 2022, Kuminga joined the

DR Congo men's national basketball team The DR Congo national basketball team (French: Équipe nationale de basketball de Congo DR) represents DR Congo in men's international basketball competitions, it is controlled by the Basketball Federation of Democratic Republic of Congo. (frenc ...

for the African 2023 World Cup qualifiers. His older brother, Joel Ntambwe, was also on the roster. On August 26, 2022, he scored a team-high 18 points along with 6 rebounds for Congo in a 69–71 loss to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

Player profile

Jonathan Kuminga is able to defend multiple positions and has elite potential to be a lockdown defender, with his near 7' wingspan and 6'8 feet height and elite athleticism and vertical. He can also slash to the rim really well, and has great scoring potential but is however a poor shooter. He also shows great potential to be a ball-handler, and alpha dog mentality, pointed as one of the key players to extend the Warriors' dynasty. Lastly, his passing vision has improved in his rookie season.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 70 , , 12 , , 16.9 , , .513 , , .336 , , .684 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 9.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 70 , , 12 , , 16.9 , , .513 , , .336 , , .684 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 9.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

† , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 16 , , 3 , , 8.6 , , .500 , , .231 , , .769 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 16 , , 3 , , 8.6 , , .500 , , .231 , , .769 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.2

Personal life

Kuminga's older brother, Joel Ntambwe, played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

before transferring to

in 2019. Two of his cousins play professional basketball:

Emmanuel Mudiay Emmanuel Kabeya Mudiay (born March 5, 1996) is a Congolese-American professional basketball player for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League. He played high school basketball for Grace Preparatory Academy and Prime Prep Academy in Texas, where he ...

in the NBA, and Omari Gudul in Europe. Kuminga's first language is French, and he is continuing to learn English.

References

External links

NBA G League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuminga, Jonathan 2002 births Living people 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate basketball people in the United States Democratic Republic of the Congo men's basketball players Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players NBA G League Ignite players The Patrick School alumni People from Goma Power forwards (basketball) Santa Cruz Warriors players Small forwards