Kuminga’s Christmas Day performance vs Lakers wasn’t a slam dunk

Jonathan Kuminga had the kind of game on Christmas in the loss to the Los Angeles Lakers that exemplifies exactly what he shouldn’t be traded.

Or should be.

Depending on who you ask, and depending on which part of the game you asked the question. Which is precisely why the Kuminga experiment has been so fascinating for folks in Dub Nation.

The former #7 overall pick of the 2021 draft has mindblowing athleticism, the combination of physicality and leaping ability at the forward position that is positively elite.

He got to the free throw line a team high eight times, knocking down six from the charity stripe. Kuminga leads the team in 4.5 free throw attempts per game, one of the only Dubs who can get downhill and force defenders to hack him on his way to the rim. That’s good!

When he finds his way into the lane, he’s a real force. He made four out of his six attempts in the paint on Christmas, including one of the greatest dunks we’ve ever seen from him.

This dunk had social media exploding, as folks leapt from their seats and knocked over their mugs of laced eggnog from that thunderous slamma jamma. THAT’S the powerful force the Dubs have been molding since they drafted him nearly four years ago.

So what’s holding him back? Well, if you look at the chart of the rest of his misses, they are all behind the arc where he went 0-for-4. He’s shooting 32% on the season from three-point range, which hasn’t been enough to keep defenses honest and spread the floor. That’s not great.

But the moment most folks will remember will be the very end of the game where Kuminga had a chance to make a game changing defensive play but was caught out of position.

Is it wrong that folks are expecting Kuminga to get the game winning stop there? Should he have made that play to support his teammate Andrew Wiggins? We’re in year four and these are the types of conversations that dominate the Kuminga topic. Plenty of potential, but not enough impact to quiet the doubters and naysayers. Keep on pushing JK, Dub Nation has your back!