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ATLANTA — After riding the bench in Golden State, Jonathan Kuminga finally got a chance to shine for the Atlanta Hawks.
He sure made the most of it.
In his Atlanta debut on Tuesday, Kuminga threw down thunderous dunks, knocked down 3-pointers and spent much of the night smiling in a 119-98 rout of the Washington Wizards.
Kuminga finished with a season-high 27 points — a far cry from the ending to his tenure in Golden State, where the high-flying forward fell out of favor with coach Steve Kerr.
“It was great,” said Kuminga, who also had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. “I was excited to be out there with the guys.”
The Hawks acquired Kuminga and guard Buddy Hield in a deal that sent center Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors at the trade deadline.
Kuminga checked in off the Atlanta bench near the midway point of the first quarter and made an immediate impact against the woeful Wizards.
He dunked off a fast break — breaking into a big grin as he headed back up the court — and gave a tantalizing glimpse of his wide-ranging talents with a 3-pointer, four assists, two rebounds and a steal during his initial stint on the court.
Kuminga wound up playing nearly 24 1/2 minutes, taking on a bigger-than-expected role after Atlanta’s All-Star forward, Jalen Johnson, went down in the first quarter with a hip flexor injury and didn’t return.
“He connected with his teammates and let the game come to him,” coach Quin Snyder said of his new addition.
Kuminga missed his first six games with the Hawks, sandwiched around the All-Star break, while recovering from a left knee bone bruise sustained in his closing weeks with the Warriors.
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Kuminga was dropped from the rotation in Golden State and asked to be traded when his playing time dwindled.
At first, the Warriors indicated there weren’t a lot of teams showing interest. But the Hawks stepped forward as a trading partner, parting ways with Porzingis after he played just 17 games during his only season in Atlanta because of injuries and illness.
Kerr discounted any off-the-court issues with Kuminga, even though the 23-year-old from the Democratic Republic of the Congo played in just seven of his last 38 games with Golden State.
He started the season as a starter, averaging 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game during his limited time on the court.
Kuminga insisted that he wasn’t trying to send a message to the Warriors in his first appearance with the Hawks.
But he was clearly thrilled to be back on the court.
“Everybody has an opinion,” Kuminga said. “I really don’t play attention to what anyone else is saying. We’re trying to win as many games as we can here. That’s my main focus.”