Jonathan Kuminga has truly come of age. The fourth-year Warriors forward is amidst a career-high season, scoring at a rate of 16.7 ppg. Moreover, this is amidst an irregular roster rotation. Coach Steve Kerr has really toyed with his place in the lineup, switching him in between the starting lineup and the bench. However, the 22-year-old doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, as Draymond Green revealed the rising star’s state of mind amid Kerr’s latest criticism.

Tonight, JK proved to the NBA world that he belonged to the category of greats. Playing along with Stephen Curry, Kuminga went on to drop a game-high 34 points and 9 rebounds to defeat Kevin Durant‘s Suns. Interestingly, coming off the bench, the rising star dropped back-to-back 34 points in back-to-back games. The Warriors’ future is in safe hands! If the franchise continues to trust him.

Despite his consistent effort on the court, Steve Kerr dropped criticism of his jumpers, especially on the timing of the attempt. The particular shot that Jonathan Kuminga worked on heavily during the offseason. Ahead of the Pacers’ game, the coach said, “There’s a time and place for every shot, and so if it’s the middle of the shot clock, it’s not a great shot.” 

Tonight, after the much-needed win over the Suns, a reporter asked Draymond Green about JK’s mentality, playing his best game amid the criticisms. The star power forward, in response, hailed the youngster, saying, “I saw what he (Kerr) said before, he’s strong, he don’t waver, stays the course. he don’t complain. He just stay the course and so his mind is great.“

Well, it’s a given. If Steve Kerr’s criticism affected his rhythm, he wouldn’t be scoring back-to-back career-high performances. So, we can say that Kerr’s words had ignited the fire in him.

How does Jonathan Kuminga deal with Steve Kerr’s criticism?

All this stuff may sound like JK and Kerr has a tough player-coach relationship. But in reality, it’s the total opposite. For instance, once Kuminga openly commented on Steve Kerr’s decision to keep his minutes low in the previous season. Speaking to a reporter, Kuminga said, “How can I say it? It’s not up to me to control my minutes. I feel like I’ve done that. But the last voice ain’t mine… With the people we have on the floor, it’s just tough to put it all together. I’m trying to figure out how to manage that,” when asked about his minutes.

In response, Kerr said, “I don’t mind those comments at all… Every guy wants to play, and JK’s a really talented guy.” Guess what, Kuminga started 46 games in that season and recorded a career-high 16.1 ppg. This season, initially, Kerr didn’t extract a lot from Kuminga but looks like the star coach has once again relied on the youngster for the desperate offense needs.

And this is what Green considers Kuminga’s opportunity to reach the top. DrayMagic continued, “You go through things in this league the path to the top for everybody… For everyone, it’s not linear. It’s dips and peaks and then you dip. That’s just that’s the nature of the game we play,” speaking of Kuminga’s improving career. Will JK go on to become the next face of the Warriors? Let us know in the comments.