“One of the Greatest to Ever Touch the Basketball”: Jonathan Kuminga Has Stephen Curry’s Back After ‘Heartbreaking’ Loss to the Kings

Stephen Curry’s blunder in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter summed up the Golden State Warriors’ 2023-24 season. The four-time NBA Champion has been the Commander-in-Chief of the Dubs’ dynastic army in the 21st century. However, he failed to steal the show with a clutch dagger in the Warriors’ 133-134 loss to the Sacramento Kings yesterday.

On the contrary, Jonathan Kuminga had a great night. He showed exactly why he deserves to be a starter for Golden State, putting up 31 points with a staggering 63.2% shooting from the floor and 50% from three. Additionally, the 21-year-old also earned the respect of fans by standing up for Steph Curry after his late-game fumble.

After Kuminga’s dunk gave the Warriors a crucial 1-point lead in the last minute of the contest, Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis dunked the basketball to give the Kings the lead again. Subsequently, Kings player Kevin Huerter missed two clutch free throws, gifting the Dubs 15 seconds to pull off the game-winning bucket. Steph Curry was soon seen dribbling the basketball outside the perimeter, looking for an opportunity to shoot one of his signature buzzer-beating daggers.

 

However, De’Aaron Fox’s lockdown defense prompted Curry to lose the handle in between his legs. Fox carried the ball down the court and ran the clock down to give the Kings the win. Steph ended the game with 33 points, shooting 13-of-26 and 6-of-14 from the deep. However, his turnover in the last few seconds of the game ended up grabbing all the headlines.

Kuminga, who combined with Curry in the Dubs’ last 19 points, was asked about the fumble in the post-game press conference. “I mean things happen. We are human, we make mistakes. And that’s [Curry] one of the greatest to ever touch the basketball. Everybody makes mistakes,” he said.

Jonathan Kuminga has been important for the Warriors this season

Kuminga’s career has really taken off this season. Despite reports of rift with head coach Steve Kerr, the 6 ft 7″ forward has been a dominant presence on the court this season. In yesterday’s game against the Kings, Kuminga had a box ‘+/-‘ score of 16. Compare that to someone like Curry, who had a ‘+/-‘ score of just -8. That really shows how JK has impacted the basketball game for the Dubs.

In the post-game presser, Curry was also asked about Kuminga’s dominance in recent games. The 35-year-old pointed out how him and Klay drawing out defenders near the perimeter opens up the lane for Kuminga and Draymond Green to exert their dominance in the paint. And JK has done exactly that.

However, things are still looking far from perfect for the Dubs. They are currently12th in the West with a concerning record of 19-23. They would need to find a swift solution before the trade deadline if they have any postseason aspirations left for the season.