Kuminga on quest to close gap between reality, potential with Dubs

Kuminga on quest to close gap between reality, potential with Dubs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SAN FRANCISCO – The clock on Jonathan Kuminga’s choppy voyage to NBA stardom has been ticking for three years, growing louder each season. He hears it. The Warriors hear it, too, yet they remain unconvinced he’ll become a franchise cornerstone.

It’s evident that Kuminga occasionally will deliver the spectacular highlights, mostly through the 22-year-old forward’s variation of dunks. Tip dunks. Dunks off lob passes. Dunks in transition, with him getting downhill and rising above the rim. That part of his game is elite.

What invites a degree of skepticism among Golden State’s shot callers and frustrates Kuminga is his inconsistency with everything else. Decision-making. Defense on and off the ball. Making the game easier for teammates. A 3-point shot that remains a project.

Selected No. 7 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga shows signs of progress and signs of regression, sometimes in the same possession. The encouraging snapshots are not always enough to obscure instances of disappointment.

Kuminga, however, is spending plenty of time in the gym in hopes of polishing his raw skills. He feels he is getting closer to the star he yearns to become. And he is. Is he getting there quickly enough?

“Now that I’m going into my fourth year, a lot of things have slowed down,” Kuminga said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Dubs Talk” podcast released Tuesday. “I could see it better. Sometimes, I don’t think I see it. Sometimes, I don’t think I’m doing the right things. But people that are watching me will say you’re doing so much better. And sometimes I would not accept it because I’d be like, ‘I don’t think so.’ ”

This illustrates the uncertainty behind Kuminga’s veneer of confidence. Warriors coach Steve Kerr and members of his staff are pushing Kuminga to reach his potential. He works…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/kuminga-quest-close-gap-between-173353409.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-10-29 17:33:00

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