MILWAUKEE — The Warriors have three games remaining before next weekend’s All-Star festivities in the Bay, and they won’t have Jonathan Kuminga for any of them.
Kuminga, 22, is expected to miss his 19th, 20th and 21st straight games with a severely sprained ankle. He suffered the injury on Jan. 4 — over five weeks ago.
A source with knowledge of the situation described Kuminga’s injury as a Grade 3 sprain, which involves complete ligament tears and can take two months or longer to heal. Surgery is rarely needed and not expected in his case.
Kuminga has been getting individual on-court work in for at least the past week as he progresses in the recovery process. He’ll likely join the team for practices after the All-Star break.
Before his injury, Kuminga was on the best run of his professional career. He averaged 20.5 points and six rebounds in the 14 games leading up to the ankle sprain. In that stretch, he surpassed the 30-point mark three times, including in a win over Houston without Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
Kuminga improved his shot selection and made a consistent impact defensively and on the boards. He slowed down Kevin Durant in the fourth quarter in a win over the Suns and grabbed 10 rebounds against the Cavaliers and Clippers.
“I’m just so impressed with JK,” Steve Kerr said after the Phoenix game on Dec. 28. “It feels like he’s turning a corner. Played so hard last night and again tonight…He was fantastic, and this is exactly what we’re looking for.”
When Kuminga returns, he’ll play alongside Jimmy Butler for the first time. The trade deadline acquisition made a strong first impression in his Warriors debut, scoring 25 points and getting to the line for 13 foul shots.
Butler and Kuminga pose similar threats to defenses as downhill attackers who play with physicality in the paint.
“He can learn a lot from Jimmy,” Kevon Looney said of Kuminga at morning shootaround in Milwaukee. “Getting JK back (will improve) our transition a lot. He’s one of the most athletic guys in the league. He’s able to get to the rim, get to the free-throw line. When you’ve got both of those guys putting pressure like that on the rim, I think it just opens it up for Steph and everybody else.”
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.