The Good and Bad From Jonathan Kuminga’s First 2 Wolves Games

What has been encouraging from Kuminga's first two games in Minnesota, and what has been concerning?

Jonathan Kuminga is not neccesarily trying to prove himself this season, but he can prove himself invaluable to the Timberwolves going forward if he plays a certain way. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jonathan Kuminga signed essentially a one-year contract with the Timberwolves this summer instead of a more lucrative contract with the Lakers that would have granted him longer-term stability.

By choosing Minnesota over LA, Kuminga is betting on himself to play well enough to earn a longer-term contract. But in Kuminga’s mind, he is not trying to prove anything. He is focused on being the type of player the Wolves need to reach their championship goals, even if that player isn't filling up the box score every night.

“Don’t really have much to prove,” Kuminga said during training camp. “Just win games somehow. Playing defense. Not taking a shot. Running the floor for others to get easy buckets. Just those smaller things.”

We are two (preseason) games into Kuminga’s Wolves tenure and have seen both ends of the spectrum of the type of player he could be in Minnesota.

The good

Kuminga can be a polarizing offensive player, both in a good and bad way.

He is a career 33% three-point shooter and has previously played heavy minutes in isolation. But the Wolves don’t need Kuminga to play in isolation to reach his best version on the team. They also don’t need him to be an effective shooter to reach that version, which we saw in Minnesota’s preseason opener in Milwaukee Monday night.

WATCH YA HEAD, JK pic.twitter.com/TyU5EmsZEZ

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 6, 2026

Kuminga scored eight modest points against the Bucks, but he aggressively got to the rim—both in transition and in the halfcourt—in a way that complemented Minnesota’s on-ball heavy stars in LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, and Jaden McDaniels. Kuminga’s effectiveness downhill meant the negative runoff from his inability to space the floor was minimal.

And when Kuminga has operated with the ball in his hands, we have seen flashes of a dynamic on-ball player who can still fit amongst Minnesota’s stars. Kuminga can quickly break down one-on-one coverage, which makes him a sneakily good option to turn a broken play into a positive at the end of the shot clock, especially when he is playing with Minnesota’s reserves.

Kuminga has also been making smart passes during training camp and into the preseason, which have impressed his head coach.

Defensively, Kuminga’s switchability has been on full display in both games. At 6’7”, he has the frame and foot speed to be a productive on-ball stopper on the perimeter, which will help the Wolves when they match up against smaller, faster-paced teams.

The bad

Kuminga scored two points, shot 1-of-9 from the floor, and 0-of-3 from deep in 19 minutes against Indiana. Every player inevitably has games where their shot simply does not fall, and that happening to Kuminga is not inherently concerning. However, I do feel as if it highlighted a greater concern to keep an eye on this season.

Because Kuminga is typically not an efficient outside shooter, it is imperative that the Wolves find ways to put him in positions to be the athletic crasher he is, regardless of the defensive matchup. The Pacers defended Minnesota miles better than the Bucks did, which is a big reason why Kuminga made only one shot—Indiana contested his attempts well.

My concern going forward is that when the Wolves face defensive pressure as they did against the Pacers, and Kuminga isn't finding ways to be an athletic roller and off-ball crasher, his offense can dry up much faster than others because he lacks an outside shot.

When that happens, the spacing woes between him and Gobert will be more present, as they were against Indiana. To prevent that, Minnesota must find ways to keep Kuminga playing as he did against the Bucks.

Finch has liked how Kuminga has battled on the boards in the preseason, but Minnesota’s new power forward has recorded three rebounds total in two games. But the Wolves have struggled on the defensive glass overall, especially when Finch replaces Gobert with Joan Beringer. 

Minnesota is in the early stages of adapting to being the smallest version of itself since 2022, when Jarred Vanderbilt flanked Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota’s starting lineup.

The tale from that season is the Grizzlies beating the Wolves up on the glass in the first round of the playoffs, which prompted the team to trade for Gobert. And since he arrived in Minnesota, the French big man has averaged 11.7 rebounds per game. At 34, he is still one of the NBA’s most reliable defensive rebounders. Still, because the Wolves lack overall size, they will need greater rebounding from the rest of their roster.

Kuminga plays a big part in that mission. He doesn’t necessarily need to average a career high in rebounds, but he must box out consistently and with a high level of aggression.

If he can do that, while maintaining the perimeter defense he has shown in the preseason and operating as an effective downhill attacker regardless of the matchup, then Kuminga has a chance to truly prove himself invaluable to the Wolves moving forward, even if he is not thinking of things that way.

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