Jonathan Kuminga hasn’t had the easiest 2025. He spent most of the first two months of this year recovering from an ankle injury suffered against Memphis in January. When he did return, he was practically frozen out of the team at certain moments by Steve Kerr. But now, with the injury to Jimmy Butler spitting chaos into the Warriors’ plans, this may be a golden opportunity for Kuminga to break into the team. Even so, he probably won’t really like what his coach said recently. Something that one of his star teammates also reiterated.

Recently, Jonathan Kuminga opened up about one of his biggest pet peeves in a chat with SF Chronicle’s Sam Gordon. And it’s a pretty relatable one—he can’t stand being told to “be ready.”

“I hate the fact that everybody is telling me be ready, get ready. I already know that I’m ready. The more you keep telling me to get ready, it becomes kind of irritating,” Kuminga said.

Understandable, right? But here’s the kicker—he probably won’t love what Steve Kerr had to say next.

Because whether it was intentional or not, his head coach did exactly what JK hates hearing.

“Everybody’s got to be ready, depending on what happens, whether Jimmy plays or not. A lot of guys came in and really performed well [in Game 2]. Pat Spencer had a great game for us, and it’s great to see JK back out there finding his rhythm. We’ve got to just be ready for whatever we’re facing, and we believe we’ve got a lot of guys who can help us win the game tomorrow,” Kerr said while previewing Game 3.

Safe to say, Kuminga’s gonna have to tune out that trigger phrase one more time.

Now, even if JK does not appreciate that the coach asked him and his teammates to be ready, we’re sure he’ll appreciate the sentiment behind it. Even if Steve Kerr kind of froze Jonathan out of the core rotation, this injury to Jimmy Butler has complicated things. And now, JK seemingly no longer finds himself on the outside looking in.  Getting 26 minutes under his belt in Game 2 was definitely a step in the right direction.

However, he needs to make the most of the playing time he receives. He had 11 points and 3 rebounds in Game 2, going 4-12 from the field. Kuminga needs to do better for the Dubs. And one of his teammates agrees with this notion, even if Kuminga doesn’t.

Stephen Curry implores Jonathan Kuminga to rise to the occasion amid Jimmy Butler’s injury

Jonathan Kuminga’s athleticism has never been doubted during his career. No, everyone knows he’s a monster in that regard. However, it’s his basketball IQ and ability to read the game that have come under question in recent times. And Dubs legend Stephen Curry believes JK can add a lot more to the Warriors’ game if he can improve in that area.

He said the challenge for Kuminga has “always been for him to see the pictures.” Steph then elaborated on what that means.”Understanding where outside defenses, where your driving angles are, and not driving into a crowd. If you’re open, shoot it. All the decisions that you make pretty quickly,” said the Baby-Faced Assassin.

He then explained why that’s important for the Warriors as a unit. “I think when we’re at our best as a team, not just him, when we’re at our best as a team, either me or Jimmy creates an advantage, we swing the ball, you know, the ball starts hopping. You either get somebody at the basket, you get a clean look from three. You create closeouts that are really hard for teams to have to guard consistently. And, yeah, just understanding where your spots are, just being aggressive in those opportunities,” said Steph after Game 2.

And here’s where the disconnect lies. Kuminga may think he’s ready to start for the Dubs. And physically, there’s no arguing that. But Steve Kerr’s teams are often more cerebral, their game plans are based more on running the other team ragged than overpowering them with sheer physicality. And this is certainly an area JK can make massive strides in.

That said, Game 3 against the Rockets will be the perfect opportunity for Kuminga to show off his growth to his teammates and coach. He shook off the rust in Game 2—now it’s time to show up for Jonathan Kuminga. Especially without the Dubs having Playoffs Jimmy Butler to bail them out of a tough spot!