Jonathan Kuminga, a prototype in development
Kuminga has all the physical tools he needs. Now he just needs the skill set.
The 2020 NBA Draft was, arguably, the weirdest draft that we will ever see.
For starters, it happened in the middle of the pandemic, meaning that it was pushed all the way back to November after the entire process took place remotely. It also happened to be a draft that was not as strong at the top as we are used to seeing. Case in point: The fourth pick in last year’s draft, Florida State’s Patrick Williams, didn’t even start for the Seminoles. He averaged all of 9.2 points and shot just 32 percent from three.
So how did he end up getting picked ahead of the likes of Isaac Okoro and Tyrese Haliburton?
He’s a prototype.
A 6-foot-8, 240 pound defensive menace, Williams is a physical freak with a 7-foot-2 wingspan that the Chicago Bulls used to defend everyone from Bradley Beal to Giannis as a 19-year old rookie. NBA organizations scour the globe for players of that ilk, and they’re willing to invest a ton of draft capital into them when they’ve proven to have a work ethic and have showcased some level of offensive skill.
Enter Jonathan Kuminga, the player from this year’s draft class that best fits that mold.
A 6-foot-8 wing with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Kuminga moved from his native Congo to the United States four years ago to begin his freshman year in high school. Long considered one of the best prospects in the Class of 2021, Kuminga graduated from high school a year early and, as a 17-year old, opted to skip college and join the G League Ignite program.
And in 13 games with the Ignite in the G League bubble, Kuminga played well. He averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 boards, he made an impact in transition and, athletically, showed he is clearly ready for the NBA. He has the physical tools, and while he was listed at just 205 pounds this year, he has broad shoulders and the kind of frame that should support muscle mass.
This is what his potential is based on. This is why it’s so easy for NBA teams to project him as an impact player at the next level.
He is a prototype.
Kuminga is a guy that is willing and able to defend point guards for 94 feet. He’s a guy that has the toughness to defend in the paint, if not quite the strength yet. He’s switchable. He’s shown the potential to be a rim protector. He needs to improve his ability to sit in a stance and move his feet, and he was embarrassed a couple times on close-outs. He has quite a bit to learn when it comes to positioning, help side rotations, different defensive schemes, things of that nature, but Kuminga doesn’t turn 19 until October. He has only been stateside for four years. Last season was supposed to be his senior year in high school. Anyone expecting him to have it all figured out right now has completely unrealistic expectations. There are flashes that show you what he can be if it all comes together.
For someone his age, what matters most are the physical tools and the willingness to defend. He has that, and I think the likelihood of him finding a way to be an impact defender in the NBA is quite high. That’s how he gets on an NBA floor early on.
His ceiling will be determined by what happens on the offensive end.
As a shooter, Kuminga has quite a bit of work to do. He shot 24.6 percent from three on five attempts per game. He shot just 26 percent on all jumpers this season. He shot 26 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers. He shot 25 percent on off-the-dribble jumpers. His stroke isn’t broken, but shooting 62.5 percent from the charity stripe isn’t exactly a great sign.
Where he’s at his best is when he can allow his athleticism to win. He’s a real threat in transition, although he’s better running a lane than leading the break himself at this stage. He also has been effective in the mid-post, when he can turn and face, using his burst, his first step and his strength around the rim to his advantage. He does have some step-backs in his bag, and his ability to read the game around him is more impressive than he gets credit for. He’s a good passer, and I don’t think it’s out of the question that he can one day be a guy that can initiate offensively. The handle, like the jumper, has to improve for that to happen, and that will take some work.
Everything about Kuminga’s game is going to take work.
Of the five players at the top of this year’s draft, he has the most developing to do, if you will.
But he’s also built in the mold of the best players in the NBA. Think Kawhi. Think Paul George. Think Jayson Tatum, or Jaylen Brown, or Jimmy Butler. That level of player is in his range of outcomes. The potential is there, and if the reports coming out of the Ignite program are to be believed, so is the work ethic.
He’s something of a lottery ticket, that’s for sure.
But his ability to defend raises his floor, and if it all comes together for him, there’s a non-zero chance that he ends up being the best player in this year’s class. I think he’s clearly the fifth-best prospect out of the top five, but that says more about this draft than it does about Kuminga. LaMelo Ball would have been the only player in last year’s draft that I would have taken over him, and if you can get a prospect like that with the fifth pick, you’re coming out ahead in the long run.