Jonathan Malangu Kuminga (born October 6, 2002) is a Congolese professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

in the 2021 class, he chose to forgo his college eligibility and reclassify to the 2020 class to join the

NBA G League Ignite The NBA G League Ignite was a developmental basketball team in the NBA G League. Originally based in Walnut Creek, California, with home games planned to have been played at the Ultimate Fieldhouse for their first two seasons before moving to Hende ...

. Kuminga finished his high school career at The Patrick School in

Hillside, New Jersey Hillside is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 22,456, an increase of 1,052 (+4.9%) from the 2010 census count of 21,404, which in turn reflected a ...

. The Warriors selected Kuminga with the seventh overall pick in the

2021 NBA draft The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after 2020 NBA draft, the pre ...

. During his rookie season, he won an

NBA champion The NBA Finals is the championship series for the National Basketball Association (NBA) held at the conclusion of its postseason. All NBA Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format, and are contested between the winners of the Easter ...

ship with them.

Early life

Kuminga began playing basketball in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

at age two. In 2016, he moved to the U.S. to play high school basketball.

High school career

As a freshman, Kuminga played basketball for

Huntington Prep School Huntington Prep or Huntington Expression Prep is a basketball-focused college preparatory school located in Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington Prep was originally unrelated to the public Huntington High School located in the same city, though ...

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

. For his sophomore season, he transferred to Our Savior New American School in Centereach, New York and averaged 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. In January 2019, Kuminga was named

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the Slam Dunk to the Beach showcase after scoring 40 points, a single-game record at the event, in a loss to

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the ...

. He earned MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year honors. After the season, Kuminga averaged 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the NY Rens at the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the ...

, facing many players older than him. He scored 43 points, shooting 7 of 11 from three-point range, against the Texas Titans, a team featuring top recruits

Cade Cunningham Cade Parker Cunningham (born September 25, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Bowie High School (Arlington, Texas), Bowie High School in his homet ...

and Greg Brown. For his junior season, Kuminga transferred to The Patrick School in

. On December 23, 2019, he made his season debut, scoring 20 points in a win over

Roselle Catholic High School Roselle Catholic High School is a coeducational, Roman Catholic secondary education in the United States, high school, located on a campus in Roselle, New Jersey, Roselle, in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jers ...

, after having been ruled ineligible for 30 days by the

New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

due to transfer rules. On January 3, 2020, Kuminga suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him for about a month. As a junior, he averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Recruiting

As a high school sophomore, Kuminga emerged as one of the best recruits in the 2021 class, with most recruiting services ranking him first in his class by the time he was a junior. On July 15, 2020, he reclassified to the 2020 class and announced that he would bypass

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

to join the

over offers from

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

, Auburn,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, among other college programs. At the end of his high school career, he was a consensus five-star recruit and the best

in the 2020 class. He was considered the third-best player in his class by Rivals.com and the fourth best by 247Sports.com and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

after reclassifying.

Professional career

NBA G League Ignite (2020–2021)

On July 15, 2020, Kuminga signed a one-year contract with the

, a developmental team affiliated with the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. On February 10, 2021, he made his debut, recording 19 points, four assists and four rebounds in a 110–104 win over the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

. Kuminga averaged 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Golden State Warriors (2021–present)

The

drafted Kuminga as the 7th pick in the

. On August 3, 2021, he signed with the Warriors. On October 30, Kuminga made his NBA debut, putting up three points and one steal in a 103–82 win over the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

. On December 18, in his first career start, Kuminga put up a then career-high 26 points in a 119–100 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

. On February 18, 2022, Kuminga participated in the

Rising Stars Challenge The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend and is intended to showcase young and rising players in t ...

game for the

2022 NBA All-Star Game The 2022 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition game played on February 20, 2022, during the National Basketball Association's 2021–22 NBA season, 2021–22 season. It was the 71st edition of the NBA All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the Cleve ...

weekend, replacing the injured Chris Duarte. Kuminga ended his rookie season as an

after the Warriors defeated the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

in the

2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 NBA season, 2021–22 season and conclusion of the 2022 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, ...

. At 19 years and 253 days, he became the second-youngest NBA champion, behind

Darko Miličić Darko Miličić ( sr-Cyrl, Дарко Миличић, ; born 20 June 1985) is a Serbian former professional basketball player. He is , and played the center position. Miličić played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2003 to 2013 ...

. On January 24, 2024, Kuminga scored 25 points on a perfect 11-for-11 from the field in a victory against the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

. This performance tied

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a five time NBA All-Star and four time All-NBA Team member. He is also two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time ...

's Warriors franchise record for the most made shots in a game without a miss. On December 27, 2024, Kuminga put up a career-high 34 points, along with 10 rebounds and five assists, in a 102–92 loss to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

. On December 28, Kuminga put up a career-high-tying 34 points in a 109–105 win over the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. On January 4th, Kuminga suffered a

sprained ankle A sprained ankle (twisted ankle, rolled ankle, turned ankle, etc.) is an injury where sprain occurs on one or more ligaments of the ankle. It is the most commonly occurring injury in sports, mainly in ball sports (basketball, volleyball, and foo ...

in a 121–113 win over the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

. He then missed 31 consecutive games before returning to action in a 130–104 win against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

, notching 18 points in just 20 minutes of action.

National team career

In August 2022, Kuminga joined the DR Congo men's national basketball team for the African 2023 World Cup qualifiers. His older brother, Joel Ntambwe, was also on the roster. On August 26, 2022, he scored a team-high 18 points along with 6 rebounds for Congo in a 69–71 loss to

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 70 , , 12 , , 16.9 , , .513 , , .336 , , .684 , , 3.3 , , .9 , , .4 , , .3 , , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 67 , , 16 , , 20.8 , , .525 , , .370 , , .652 , , 3.4 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .5 , , 9.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 74 , , 46 , , 26.3 , , .529 , , .321 , , .746 , , 4.8 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , .5 , , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 47 , , 10 , , 24.3 , , .454 , , .305 , , .668 , , 4.6 , , 2.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , 15.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 258 , , 84 , , 22.0 , , .507 , , .332 , , .696 , , 4.0 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , .4 , , 12.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

† , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 16 , , 3 , , 8.6 , , .500 , , .231 , , .769 , , 1.7 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 10 , , 0 , , 6.1 , , .542 , , .429 , , .556 , , .9 , , .5 , , .2 , , .0 , , 3.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 8 , , 1 , , 23.4 , , .484 , , .400 , , .710 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , 15.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 34 , , 4 , , 11.4 , , .497 , , .356 , , .712 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .3 , , .2 , , 7.0

Personal life

Kuminga's older brother, Joel Ntambwe, played

for

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

before transferring to

in 2019. Two of his cousins play professional basketball:

Emmanuel Mudiay Emmanuel Kabeya Mudiay (born March 5, 1996) is a Congolese-American professional basketball player for the Piratas de Quebradillas of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). He played high school basketball for Grace Preparatory Academy and Pr ...

in Puerto Rico, and Omari Gudul in Europe. Kuminga's first language is French and he is continuing to learn English.

References

External links

NBA G League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuminga, Jonathan 2002 births Living people Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate basketball people in the United States Democratic Republic of the Congo men's basketball players Golden State Warriors draft picks Golden State Warriors players Huntington Prep School alumni NBA G League Ignite players The Patrick School alumni Power forwards Santa Cruz Warriors players Small forwards Sportspeople from Goma 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo sportsmen