Warriors’ lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga out at least a week after MRI results reveal knee injury
Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, suffered a strain in his right knee Wednesday night against Denver.
SAN FRANCISCO — Jonathan Kuminga’s first NBA preseason will be put on hold for at least a week after an MRI revealed the Warriors rookie lottery pick suffered a strained patellar tendon in his right knee.
Kuminga, who turned 19 on Wednesday, left Golden State’s second preseason game in the fourth quarter. The Warriors believe the injury occurred when teammate Nemanja Bjelica landed on him during a play. He’ll be reevaluated in a week, Kerr said; until then, he’ll be limited to mostly watching practice.
“It’s always disappointing when a player gets hurt, especially a young one like Jonathan,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The young guys really need as much of training camp as possible. So it’s too bad.”
Kuminga is Golden State’s second lottery pick to have his NBA training camp interrupted by injury. The Warriors are hopeful Kuminga’s knee injury is not as serious as the one James Wiseman suffered toward the end of his rookie season.
Wiseman still doesn’t have a timeline to return from the meniscus tear in his right knee.
Kerr said it was “definitely a setback” for the development of a young player, one who had earned raves from Kerr early on in training camp for his offensive maturity in addition to his athleticism.
“He’ll be fine long-term,” Kerr said. “But there’s no substitute for actually being out there. It’s a shame. … Like James, missing out on part of training camp or all of training camp, that’s definitely a setback. But he’ll be here. He’ll be going through some of the drill work, or at least watching the drill work and understanding what we’re trying to achieve.”
Neither Kuminga nor Golden State’s other lottery pick from the past draft, Moses Moody, saw the court in the first half of either of the Warriors’ first two preseason games. Both have drawn praise from Kerr and their teammates after a little more than a week together in training camp.
Kuminga, in particular, has garnered attention for his ability to kick the ball out to an open shooter after drawing defenders on a drive to the basket. It’s been five years since he moved from his home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo to pursue basketball in the U.S.
Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala have both praised the 19-year-old’s mindset and his drive “to be great.”
That will be tested with his first bout of professional adversity.
As Kerr said, “this is all part of it.”
He said the Warriors will work to keep him engaged while he’s physically unable to participate in practice.
During the period Thursday that was open to the media, Kuminga was riding a recumbent bicycle while his the rest of the team was on the court.
NOTE
- Andrew Wiggins did not participate in practice Thursday and could sit out the Warriors’ third preseason game Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Kerr said Wiggins was dealing with “some nicks and bruises” but didn’t commit to resting him Friday.
