How Smith believes Kuminga can help Warriors reach West finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors, at times throughout the 2024-25 NBA season, have looked like a true title contender, a fringe play-in team, and everything in between.
Golden State had quite the identity crisis in the first half, but in four games after acquiring star forward Jimmy Butler before the NBA All-Star break, began to form a new identity as a team with renewed energy that has many inside the organization — and some outside — believing the Warriors can make a deep playoff run.
One believer in Golden State’s roster is TNT analyst Kenny Smith, who joined NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole and Bonta Hill on the latest episode of “Dubs Talk” and discussed how fourth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga can be the team’s X factor down the stretch.
“He has to take the step. Not a step, the step that separates him from the rest of the pack,” Smith explained. “And if he does that, we’re going to be looking around here in May going ‘Oh my God, they’re in the Western Conference finals.’
“But if he doesn’t, it will be an interesting summer.”
Kuminga, whom the Warriors selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, will become a restricted free agent this summer after he and Golden State failed to agree to a contract extension this fall.
The 22-year-old has shown flashes of his All-Star potential over the years, and emerged as a consistent second scoring option to superstar guard Steph Curry this season before suffering a right ankle sprain on Jan. 4 that has sidelined him 21 games.
Not only does Smith believe Kuminga can be a catalyst for the Warriors down the stretch, but is confident the young forward possesses the tools to be an impactful player for years to come.
“He can be a better version of this, [and] it’s Serge Ibaka,” Smith said when asked for his Kuminga comparison. “Like he can be a better version of that. He could be a shot-blocker defender because of his athleticism, a run-the-lane dunker. And what he’s added, he can handle the basketball. So he becomes another guy you can pass [to]. So he can be a better version of that, what [Ibaka] was for OKC. And that’s an All-Star. You don’t have to be a superstar, but at some point, if you have All-Star talent, you have to play like an All-Star.”
In 14 NBA seasons with Oklahoma City, Toronto, the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee and Orlando, Ibaka averaged 12 points and 7.1 rebounds on 51.3-percent shooting from the field and 35.9 percent from 3-point range while being named to three All-Defensive teams, leading the league in blocks twice (2011-12, 2012-13) and winning a championship with the Raptors in 2019.
If the Warriors have that in Kuminga, and potentially more, they have to be thrilled with his potential short- and long-term impact.
