Steve Kerr had warned that depending on the opponent, he could put Jonathan Kuminga in the starting lineup, and last night he decided to make him the first defender on LeBron James.
At 19, the Congolese therefore found himself facing the first major individual challenge of his young career, and he passed it with the mention “Very good”!
Not content to come close to double-double with his 18 points and 9 rebounds, he defended well on the four-time MVP and NBA champion, and he received praise from everyone. Starting with Klay Thompson.
“Isn’t it crazy that he wasn’t selected for the Rising Stars Challenge? “ he asks at a press conference. “He just defended LeBron James, gave us 18 points on 11 shots, and almost a double-double. How many 19-20 players can do that? “
“He is super talented, but I would say that Julius Randle is more physical than him”
Same admiring words from Frank Vogel. “I love his talent, and he’s very, very impressive. As he has top-notch athletic qualities, you can see his qualities. He’s young, but he can only improve, and I’m very, very impressed with him. “
Beyond the victory, what retains Jonathan Kuminga from this duel against one of the best players in history?
“I was excited to play against the Lakers. Because of Kobe Bryant, I watched them when I was younger. Everyone looked up to LeBron growing up, and playing opposite him was super cool. I love basketball and I love playing against people like that. The day he retires, there will be no more players like him, and I take this opportunity to steal a few things from him. He’s super talented, but I would say Julius Randle is more physical than him. LeBron sees the game really well.”
Because of the faults, Steve Kerr still limited the duel, and he blames himself a little. ” I feel sorry for him. Jonathan was our best player for three quarters, and I really wanted to put him back into play. But given the turn of the match, and as our five “small ball” was playing well, I stayed on this group. “
| Jonathan Kuminga | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2021-22 | GOS | 44 | 14 | 49.4 | 31.7 | 64.8 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 7.6 |
| Total | 44 | 14 | 49.4 | 31.7 | 64.8 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 7.6 | |
