How Jonathan Kuminga Has Fared Without Steph Curry Shows Star Potential

The Golden State Warriors will be without Stephen Curry for Friday's NBA Cup game against the Denver Nuggets.

They'll need Jonathan Kuminga to score more without their best player, and fortunately for the Warriors, the 2021 first-round pick has been up to the challenge.

Scoring at a Star-Level Pace

Since the beginning of last season, Kuminga has appeared in 15 games without Curry (playoffs included). Here is his game log:

10/29/24 vs. NOP: 28:12 minutes, 17 points
10/30/24 vs. NOP: 27:15 minutes, 16 points
11/02/24 @ HOU: 26:26 minutes, 23 points
11/27 vs. OKC: 28:06 minutes, 19 points
12/05 vs. HOU: 32:55 minutes, 33 points
12/27 @ LAC: 36:46 minutes, 34 points
01/04 vs. MEM: 15:18 minutes, 13 points (suffered injury in second quarter)
03/18 vs. MIL: 23:47 minutes, 10 points
03/22 @ ATL: 21:44 minutes, 16 points
03/25 @ MIA: 24:49 minutes, 15 points
05/08 @ MIN: 26:23 minutes, 18 points
5/10 vs. MIN: 35:52 minutes, 30 points
5/12 vs. MIN: 29:31 minutes, 23 points
5/14 @ MIN: 32:14 minutes, 26 points
Wednesday @ SAC: 35:36 minutes, 24 points

What stands out to me is when he's logged at least 29 minutes, he's scored at least 23 points in all six games. He's averaging 28.3 points in those games.

Overall, he's scored 317 points in 425 minutes without Curry since the start of last season, which is a per-36 average of 26.9 points. Only seven players averaged 26.9 points per 36 minutes in the 2024-25 regular season: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34.4), Giannis Antetokounmpo (32.0), Nikola Jokic (29.0), Curry (27.5), Donovan Mitchell (27.4), Anthony Edwards (27.3) and Cade Cunningham (26.9).

Put simply, Kuminga scores like a superstar when Curry is absent.

Kuminga is averaging a career-high 30.8 minutes per game this season, and that has yielded a career high in points (17.2). Expect his scoring average to rise after Friday's game.

The Next Step: Making a Star-Level Impact

No one can question Kuminga's scoring proficiency without Curry, but has it resulted in winning?

In those same 15 games, the Warriors are 6-9 and Kuminga has a cumulative plus-minus of minus-34.

To be fair, any team would struggle without its best player, so this isn't meant to be a criticism of Kuminga. But it does show how far Kuminga has to go if he wants to be the team's franchise player in a couple of years.

The good news is he's showing signs of major growth this season.

Kuminga is averaging career highs in rebounds (7.1), assists (3.1), three-point percentage (41.4) and free-throw percentage (82.5). The improvements are striking.

With 28 assists and 26 turnovers, he's still lacking in some playmaking metrics. Ideally, that assist-to-turnover ratio would be closer to 2-to-1 instead of 1-to-1.

And his defense, though refreshing for its aggressive nature, yields too many fouls and blow-bys.