Warriors legend praises Jonathan Kuminga's work ethic

Jonathan Kuminga is starting to hit his stride and nobody is happier to see him blossom than Warriors legend Chris Mullin, who has known the Congolese player since Kuminga came to the United States in 2016.  

After Kuminga's 27-point effort against the Mavs on Wednesday, Mullin spoke glowingly of the third-year Warriors forward on the NBC Bay Area Sports postgame show. 

"I met him when he was 13 or 14. He was down at St. John's always working out with Precious Achiuwa," Mullin recalled. "Both these guys have tremendous work ethic, and they were single-minded about what they wanted to do — work as hard as possible to get to the NBA and to provide for their families.

"This has been a journey for Jonathan. One of my favorite guys — he's got a charismatic and endearing personality. He's very grateful to be where he is, but he's hungry. He wants to learn as much as he can from Draymond, Steph and Klay and take it to another level."

Mullin believes Kuminga's dustup with Warriors coach Steve Kerr earlier in the season happened for the best. At the time, many felt Kuminga's time in the Bay could end prematurely, especially with the Warriors engaging teams in trade talks ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline. 

However, a lot has changed over the last few months with Kuminga becoming the bonafide No. 2 option in the Warriors offense behind Stephen Curry. 

"I look at that outburst with Steve Kerr [in early January]... you can look at it two ways. To me, he just wanted to play," Mullin said. "At some point, you want that from your players. You talked it out and since then, they're rolling pretty good."

Kuminga has indeed been "rolling" since the start of the new year, averaging 19.7 points in 2024. Through the first three months of the season, he averaged 12.1 points. 

It's been a tale of two seasons for the athletic 21-year-old.