After getting out to a fast start to the season, the Warriors began to struggle, in part because of the shooting slump that Stephen Curry was having. They were able to keep their cool, and things were going very well for them in terms of their progression toward finishing the season in the top two seeds. That is, in the time before Draymond Green suffered an injury.
The Warriors were plagued by injuries for the entirety of the regular season and rarely had their “Big 3” on the court at the same time before the playoffs began. During this time, he gave his younger players, such as Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, a far higher number of minutes on the court than most people would have predicted.
The same didn’t offer results that were below average. During the course of the season, Kuminga appeared in a total of 70 games and started 12. JK did not get a lot of playing time (16.9 minutes on average per game), but he has demonstrated that he has the potential to be outstanding.
The same subject has also been raised by head coach Steve Kerr a number of times in recent conversations. During Jonathan Kuminga’s rookie season, Steve Kerr drew parallels between the young player and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
In January of 2022, the Warriors made the trip to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the NBA Champions from the previous season, the Milwaukee Bucks. Due to the fact that the current Finals MVP was trying his best to intimidate them, the Dubs faced a difficult matchup. In the end, they were defeated by a score of 118–99.
After the loss, Steve Kerr talked about Giannis and likened his rookie year to that of a Warriors rookie. He also compared it to his own rookie year. In his rookie year, Giannis played a total of 24.6 minutes and had 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
His scoring average was 6.8 points per game. Kuminga has already made significant progress. On average, he scored 9.3 points, grabbed 3.3 rebounds, and dished out 0.9 assists in 16.9 minutes of play.
Although it’s possible that JK won’t end up being as good as Giannis, I’m not going to rule out the potential either. If the head coach of the Warriors, who has a great deal of NBA coaching experience, has faith in the young player, it would be silly to mistrust Kerr.
The hero of the Milwaukee Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo, has a good case for being named the finest player in the world, but the 2021 Finals MVP is also a truly remarkable person. Everyone who has spent time with Giannis has had positive things to say about him, including his character, work ethic, and selflessness—qualities that any coach would look for in a player. The only player outside of his own squad whom Steve Kerr, the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, would like to coach is Giannis.
In an exclusive interview with FilGoal, Kerr expressed his desire to coach Giannis. He’s an excellent player, but he also comes across as a wonderful person. Before Giannis agreed to an extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, there was some talk that the Warriors might try to snag him. The superstar has signed with Milwaukee for a few seasons and hasn’t done anything to leave yet.
Every year, the Bucks are a contender, and this year they are expected to finish close to the top of the Eastern Conference. A Finals encounter is not ruled out if they and the Warriors perform to their full ability this season. Steve Kerr would welcome the clash, even if Giannis is the player he would prefer to have on his team. Even though a lot of superstars have interesting skills, not many have the things that make Giannis a dream player for any coach.