2021 NBA Draft Profile: Jonathan Kuminga
A physical specimen with consistency issues who may not be a Day 1 contributor for whatever team takes him in the lottery.
Position: Forward, G League Ignite
Age: 18 (10/6/2002)
Height: 6 ft 8 in
Wingspan: 7 ft (pre-Combine)
Weight: 220 lbs.
Strickland 2021 Big Board Rank: 11
Standing a chiseled 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan, Jon Kuminga has the coordination, length, strength, speed, and coordination you want from a big wing in the modern NBA. The flashes of shooting off the dribble, advanced post moves to take advantage of mismatches, and even playmaking were all present in the G League. What he lacked was consistency — there were games where the jumper didn’t fall, where the mismatches didn’t result in scoring in bunches, and where his smart decisiveness was replaced with aggressive, bad decisions. How much of that is small sample size noise (only 13 games with the Ignite) and how much is red flags worth genuine concern will likely determine if he will live up to his potential.
Kuminga’s jumper doesn’t look bad, it looks inconsistent. His athletic explosiveness, especially vertically, is more situational than universal. His handle is ambitious more than it is NBA ready. His motor runs hot and cold. An NBA team that bets on him is hoping reps and a strong infrastructure will unearth a diamond in the rough, and considering he is one of the youngest players in this class and didn’t begin seriously playing basketball until much later than his peers (15 years old), Kuminga is absolutely a bet worth taking — so long as whoever drafts him isn’t under the assumption that he is a ready-made elite big wing and is more an bunch of talents (physical and otherwise) that still require assembly and care.
