Warriors: Jonathan Kuminga’s shocking response to benching after matching season-high in win over Bulls

So much for Jonathan Kuminga’s incredible comeback to the bench shattering his previously healed bond with Steve Kerr.

On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors’ third-year wing, who matched his season-high of 24 points on 9 of 12 shooting and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, powered his team to a much-needed 140-131 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The fact that Kuminga’s performance was so promising occurred in his first game off the bench since December 14th, when Kerr made the contentious choice to start Andrew Wiggins and Dario Saric in the Windy City with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevon Looney.

The leaps Kuminga gained over the previous three weeks as a full-time starter wasn’t the only aspect potentially at danger by putting him back to a reserve role. Not quite a week had passed since Kuminga’s camp made public their lack of “faith” in Kerr, which prompted a meeting where the coach and player soon discovered points of agreement.

Kuminga, however, stated following the game that he didn’t give a damn if he started games on the court or on the pine.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been coming off the bench, so that has no bearing on me. I continue to act professionally,” he declared. “As long as I go out there and help my team win, as I always say, and just enjoy being with this bunch

Jonathan Kuminga embraces, thrives in controversial bench role in Warriors’ win over Bulls

Kuminga’s playing time didn’t actually change much on Friday, by the way. He notched just over 24 minutes against Chicago, only two less than he averaged while starting Golden State’s previous 14 games.

Kerr’s altered starting lineup paid major dividends, too. An active, energetic Wiggins finished with 17 points, five rebounds and a season-best eight assists, while Saric also helped the Dubs finally get off to a better start by scoring nine points in the first quarter. More indicative of the lineup change’s team-wide impact? The Warriors racked up 39 assists en route to a 142.9 offensive rating, both high water marks in 2023-24.

Draymond Green’s imminent return from suspension will undoubtedly spark more rotational tweaks. Chris Paul, Gary Payton II and Moses Moody getting healthy will, too, and there’s almost no way Golden State stands pat at the trade deadline despite Friday night’s feel-good victory. More changes are coming.

Don’t worry about Kuminga, though. Despite a prevailing perception otherwise, winning is all he seems to care about by now.

“Coming off the bench was maybe a great decision from coach that I can’t question now,” he said, “because whoever go out there and play and help us win, that’s all that matters.”