Joanthan Kuminga Ruled Out of Hawks vs Bucks With Injury

Kuminga was downgraded to questionable a few hours ahead of the Hawks-Bucks showdown

Mar 1, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga (0) dunks against the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Tonight is a big game for the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament race.

The Atlanta Hawks, who come into tonight's game tied for the Hornets for 9th place in the East, face the Milwaukee Bucks on the road. Milwaukee comes into this game four games behind the Hawks for the last spot in the play-in tournament. If the Hawks win tonight, they will be five games ahead of the Bucks and will need one more win vs Milwaukee to earn the tiebreaker over Atlanta. With Giannis Antetokounmpo retrurning, it feels like it is now or never for the Bucks.

As for Atlanta, they are not only trying to hold off the Bucks for the play-in spot, but Atlanta is also trying to catch the 76ers (who they play on Saturday) for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, and they enter tonight's game 2.5 games behind Philly.

The Hawks had a clean injury report yesterday, but earlier this afternoon, they downgraded forward Jonathan Kuminga to questionable with left knee inflammation and they have just made the final ruling on his playing status for tonight's game. Kuminga is out tonight and won't be able to come off the bench for the Hawks.

An @emoryhealthcare injury update:

Jonathan Kuminga (left knee inflammation): Out https://t.co/vSLlWsz6db

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 5, 2026

How does Atlanta replace him?

In Atlanta's most recent victory on 3/1, forward Jonathan Kuminga tallied 20 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, 1-2 from deep, 5-7 from the free throw line, in addition to seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench. In his three games as a Hawk, the 6-7 forward is averaging 21.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 26.4 minutes of action.

Per Elias Sports, Kuminga is just the fourth Hawk in franchise history to average at least 20.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals in his first three games with the club, joining Glenn Robinson (2002-03), Antoine Walker (2004-05), and Dominique Wilkins (1982-83). He owns a total +/- of +59 in his first three games with the team, the best in a player's first three games with the Hawks since at least 1997-98 (play-by-play era) and the best by any player in the NBA since OG Anunoby with the Knicks (+74).

With Kuminga out, I would expect to see more minutes from Mouhamed Gueye tonight and a lot of minutes for Jalen Johnson. It is possible that rookie Asa Newell gets a run in the rotation, but Gueye has been playing over him recently.