With Gary Payton II out with a thumb injury, the Golden State Warriors needed somebody to step up against the Los Angeles Lakers. Their monstrous offensive trio of Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves have all been firing. Draymond Green alone could only do so much. So he needed to have some brutal conversations with one of the members of the Warriors.

Green has been advocating for Jonathan Kuminga for a long time. But with Payton out, he felt this was his chance. On his podcast, he said, “If I’m Jonathan Kuminga right now I’m saying GP I want to guard the best player when I come into the game… I’m going to change the momentum of the game,”. This wouldn’t be the only instance, either. “We challenged him in private,” too Green revealed.

And Kuminga responded. “Luka, LeBron everybody he guarded, Austin Reaves at times, he was asking for those matchups. That says a lot… We challenged him publicly to step up on the defensive end and he did that. He was great offensively but he was even better defensively,” Green said about the forward whose future with the Bay remains uncertain.

However, a performance like tonight proved why the Warriors regard the 22-year-old so highly. Aside from his explosive offense, Kuminga took on the big challenges. He was on Luka Doncic for a large part of the night and kept rotating between the Lakers’ best players. Joining the defensive mission, the Warriors limited Doncic to shooting just 6-17 from the field.

It also ended the Slovenian’s streak of 110 consecutive games with a three-pointer made. Jonathan Kuminga was a decisive contributor in ensuring that happened. Subtracting Doncic from the dynamic allowed the Warriors to pull off an incredible win over the Lakers, led by Stephen Curry‘s 37 points.

Likewise, Draymond Green was flattered by how Kuminga longed for the most difficult defensive assignments. But he saw more evolution in this one game from the fierce forward.

The star potential of Jonathan Kuminga

There’s never been a doubt about Kuminga’s scoring capabilities. Maybe Steve Kerr is still unsure about him supplying as a stretch forward. Regardless, JK can break defenses down and generate an offense near the rim thanks to his atomic athleticism. However, the Warriors rely heavily on their actions as a team.

The ball moves a lot and the final preferred product is mostly getting the best shot. If that happens to be an open three, the Warriors can opt to pass up a shot near the rim. You can see how that would be difficult for Kuminga who is trying to prove he is worth a max contract extension. But today he made those reads.

“I thought the biggest play he made was when he got in the middle of the paint and kicked it out to Moses. That just shows growth. He can take that shot, he can make that shot and he does often. But to go in there not take that shot and have that shot but kick it out for an even better shot and get someone else going that’s what stars do,” Draymond Green said about the play that stood out to him.

Jonathan Kuminga was “patient” in the game against the Lakers. Rather than force the issue, the 22-year-old fell into the flow of the game. His 18 points were still more than the entire Lakers bench combined. Moreover, he did the things Kerr has wanted him to do. He attacked the glass and was aggressive when going to the basket.

It opened up opportunities for his teammates. It may have also solidified his place within the Warriors’ future system. This season in particular Kuminga has proven he can stand for the crest. His performance tonight was just another example of his talents and ability to be productive.