Jonathan Kuminga's injury report upgrade confirms expected Warriors return vs. Kings
13/03/2025 18:24
Jonathan Kuminga has not played for the Golden State Warriors since Jan. 4 when he suffered a severe right ankle sprain. The good news for Kuminga and the Warriors is that he will be making his long-awaited return to the floor on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings, assuming he doesn’t suffer any unforeseen setback in shootaround and pregame warmups.
He is currently listed as probable for Thursday night’s game on the Warriors’ injury report.
Golden State has been monitoring Kuminga’s progress closely in anticipation of him making his injury return over the last week. Due to the team’s desire not to rush their young player back from this ankle sprain and Kuminga still dealing with some discomfort, his return was delayed slightly.
The soreness he is dealing with has been labeled as "rust" needing to be worked off, league sources told ClutchPoints on Kuminga’s return.
Between looking good in scrimmages and individual work behind the scenes, the Warriors believe Kuminga is 100 percent ready to return and make an impact coming off the bench for a team that has won 12 of their last 14 games, including five straight. Once officially upgraded to active for this matchup against the Kings, Kuminga will face a minutes restriction in a key role off the bench.
After defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 130-120 on Monday night, the Warriors are now 37-28 and are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 6-seed in the Western Conference.
Jimmy Butler’s arrival has completely altered Golden State’s status as a realistic championship contender in the West. Kuminga returning to Steve Kerr’s rotations offers even more upside to one of the hottest teams in the NBA. However, Kerr recently made it clear that Kuminga will not jump straight back into the role he held before his injury.
"It’s a really difficult thing when you’re playing really well and then you have a key guy coming back," Kerr said after Saturday’s 115-110 win over the Detroit Pistons. "I think the idea is to bring him along slowly. Play him in short bursts. Help him get his rhythm back. But, we’ve gotta keep playing Gui Santos. We’ve gotta keep playing the guys who are helping us win right now.
"Usually, this stuff has to kind of play out and so we’ll hope that it plays out."
Since the All-Star break, the Warriors rank second in offensive rating and fifth in defensive rating. They are joined by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the only teams who rank inside the top five of both categories during this span.
Before his ankle injury, Kuminga averaged 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor as the Dubs’ second-best offensive talent next to Stephen Curry. Now that Butler is with Golden State, the team will look for Kuminga to provide essential minutes off the bench, expanding the Warriors’ overall depth even further.
An official update on Jonathan Kuminga’s final injury status against the Kings will be provided by the Warriors in pregame warmups. Kuminga will be upgraded to available and make his return on Thursday night.
The post Jonathan Kuminga’s injury report upgrade confirms expected Warriors return vs. Kings appeared first on ClutchPoints.
