Jonathan Kuminga has played just five games in the six weeks since the Golden State Warriors traded him to the Atlanta Hawks. He’ll be back Saturday night to show his old team what they lost.
The Hawks sat Kuminga on Friday as part of their management of his knee injury, resting him on the front half of a back-to-back. The young forward may not have played much for the Hawks, but it’s a big change from when Kuminga was a frequent healthy scratch for his old team.
Jonathan Kuminga has something to prove to the Warriors
Kuminga was the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, but he never quite found consistent playing time with the Warriors, who were a surprise title team in 2022. Warriors coach Steve Kerr struggled to fit in Kuminga and other young players into the rotation while veterans like Steph Curry and Draymond Green needed to win now. It didn’t help that Kuminga’s most productive stretches were often derailed by injury woes.
Even when Kuminga signed a two-year contract before the 2025-26 season, it felt like his contract was designed to be a trade chip, with a team option for 2026-27. The Warriors held out hope that Kuminga could be a part of a trade for a superstar like Giannis Antetokounmpo before flipping him for Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline.
Kuminga scored 27 points in 24 minutes in his Hawks debut and is putting up 14.8 PPG, along with 7.5 rebounds. That’s the kind of performance, particularly in rebounding, that the Warriors would have loved to see from their lottery pick, but the fit with the roster and coach made it a rarity in Golden State.
Hawks have a brighter playoff future than Warriors
The Kuminga-for-Porzingis trade happened the same week that Steph Curry injured his knee. He hasn’t played since Jan. 30, when the Warriors were 27-22. Since then, they’ve gone 6-15.
The Hawks are moving in the opposite direction. They won Kuminga’s debut and continued with an 11-game win streak, before the Rockets defeated them Friday, 117-95. They went from the fringes of the play-in tournament to a real chance at a top-five finish in the Eastern Conference. With Kuminga in the lineup, they’re 6-0, all dougle-digit wins.
That’s why Saturday is more than just a revenge game for Kuminga. It’s a chance to get his team into position for a playoff run. And unlike with Golden State, Kuminga will get plenty of playing time as long as he stays healthy.