Ex-G League teammates Green, Kuminga highlight Warriors-Rockets game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
They were teenage teammates, wiry wings with jaw-dropping athleticism who by consensus were the two most intriguing NBA prospects on the inaugural G League Ignite roster.
Less than an hour after the Houston Rockets selected Jalen Green second overall in the 2021 NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors selected his Ignite teammate, Jonathan Kuminga, seventh overall.
Their NBA careers have taken considerably different trajectories, and their next reunion comes Thursday night when the reeling Warriors (12-8) play host to the rampaging Rockets (15-7) at Chase Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Green entered the starting lineup as a rookie and remained their first his first 247 NBA games. He showed enough for the Rockets to invest in his future, signing him to a three-year contract extension worth $106 million shortly before the Oct. 21 deadline.
Kuminga and the Warriors, by contrast, have had a much cloudier experience. That he has not maintained a place in the starting lineup – 229 games, 79 starts – is among the reasons there was no agreement for an extension. Golden State is willing to be patient and give itself another season to evaluate his development.
Though Kuminga and Green won’t always be assigned to defend each other – Kuminga is a forward, Green a guard – their performances will be under the spotlight.
The Warriors are without Stephen Curry’s scoring and Draymond Green’s defense and playmaking, which puts an additional burden on Kuminga. He likely will be in the starting lineup and play 30-plus minutes. This looms as a prime opportunity to show the front office his worth when he truly is needed.
With Green’s backcourt partner, Fred VanVleet, listed as questionable with a right knee contusion, it’s conceivable that Green – Houston’s leading scorer at 19.3 points per game – will need to accept additional playmaking duties.
Then, too, both Kuminga and Green are young men with tremendous pride. Green was the Ignite’s top scorer (17.9 points per game), with Kuminga (15.8) second. Kuminga led the league minutes (32.8 per game), with Green second (32.0). There were dramatic differences in shooting efficiency, with Green shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 36.5 from deep while Kuminga posted 38.7/24.6 shooting splits.
Green, 22, appears to be a cornerstone in Houston’s future. Kuminga, also 22 but eight months younger continues to aim for such status.
Each player will want to outshine the other, and it’s reasonable to assume the one who is most effective will put his team in position to win.
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