Why Kuminga is hesitant to commit to NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Why Kuminga is hesitant to commit to NBA Slam Dunk Contest

The “Warriors Postgame Live” team speaks with Jonathan Kuminga,

who scored 17 points during the beginning rotation,

following the Warriors’ 132-126 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at Chase Centre.

SAN FRANCISCO Following Draymond Green’s NBA ban,

Jonathan Kuminga was added to the starting lineup and has since shown the potential to

develop into the all-around player the Warriors had hoped to acquire when

they selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft.

Prior to then, Kuming was mostly renowned for his inconsistent behaviour and his thunderous,

potent dunking style. Videos on social media document Kuminga’s prolific posterizing of opponents

going all the way back to his 2021–22 rookie season.

That raises the question of how Kuminga would perform in a national competition,

such as the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which takes place the week before the All-Star game.

Kuminga considered the notion after practice on Tuesday,

even though invites to the event had not yet been sent out.

Kuminga told NBA Sports Bay Area,

“It’s something where I have to sit down and just think about it.”

“I had never considered it in that way before. It’s something I need to give careful thought to.”

Kuminga is reluctant to accept the concept in part because he doesn’t think of himself as a

particularly inventive dunker in the same way as the players that compete in the dunk competition.

When he gets up for a jam, he is more direct and prefers to keep things as basic as possible.

Still, he has a huge dunk repertoire.

His trademark right-hand throwdown is there. In addition to putback slams and various rim-rockers,

he can execute a couple tomahawk dunks a la Dominique Wilkins.

His repertoire of dunks is so extensive that an individual put

together a 10-minute film featuring a plethora of JK dunks,

all of which are equally fierce and potent as the last.

The crowd reacts audibly to almost every dunk, especially ones that happen at Chase Centre,

and Kuminga’s teammates frequently show signs of collapsing over laughing when they watch the big guy dunk.

Kuminga is far more excited by that kind of response than he would be if he attempted something cunning with it.

“Get the crowd going, get the team going, get everybody going, get myself going,

especially when it’s game time,” Kuminga stated.

“I score a basket, and the game is on.” I am exactly that kind of a dunker.

I’m not the kind to walk around doing a 360-degree turn or a windmill routine.

This season, following a put-back dunk,

a TV expert called Kuminga a human helicopter.

Almost all NBA teams have experienced the fury of a Kuminga monster jam,

sometimes more than once. Perhaps the only club he hasn’t dunk on, at least not in a game, is the Warriors.

Practice may be a different story,

though Golden State hasn’t had much opportunity for scrimmages thus yet.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr stated,

“We don’t get a lot of scrimmage time so you don’t see some of the massive dunks,

but he’s obviously so powerful and athletic.”

We drafted him for this reason—

he provides us with something we wouldn’t otherwise have or wouldn’t have very much of.

We want him to attack the rim more often,

both with and without the ball, because it’s important. Since it’s done as soon as he gets the ball inside.

Several times during Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Warriors, the Celtics discovered that.

One in particular stuck out: during overtime, Kuminga stole the ball, raced the length of the court,

and finished the possession with a huge dunk that had the Chase Centre crowd shouting and

many of his teammates smiling from the sidelines.

Since Green has been absent, Kuminga’s entire play has become more important.

Given his skill set, it’s likely that JK will continue to see a lot of playing time even once Green returns.

Kuminga also possesses considerable agility in his play.

He doesn’t just wait in the key for the ball to drop or a rebound to slam it.

He usually comes streaking down the lane or across the baseline with unbelievable stuff.

That’s what makes for wonderful theatrics and entertainment,

but Kuminga has just demonstrated that he is far more than just that.

Kuminga was guarding Jayson Tatum on a potentially game-winning jumper that struck the front iron as time

expired in the fourth quarter during the last seconds of overtime against the Celtics.

Stephen Curry briskly approached Kuminga as the Warriors made their way back to their bench,

complimenting him on his play on defence.

It remains to be seen if he will bring his dunking skills to the All-Star game.

In addition to lacking the name recognition that some of the other competitors have,

he still needs to improve his game’s ups and downs before gaining the respect of the country.

Warriors supporters are aware of his strength when he goes up to slam someone, though.

One of the things about the former first-round draft pick that they can always rely on is this.

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