At last, the Atlanta Hawks landed an opportunity to roll out their trade deadline pickup, Jonathan Kuminga.
The Hawks hosted the Washington Wizards on February 24, hoping to improve to 29-31 on the season.
The game had plenty of emotions attached, considering the Hawks were facing the team that took on their former franchise player in Trae Young, but the Kuminga debut certainly added plenty of excitement on the night.
Kuminga didn’t land an opportunity to start. Seeing as though he’s joining the team late in the year, he’s taking on a bench role for the time being. It’s unclear if that could change in the near future.
The veteran forward checked in for 24 minutes. During that time, he shot 9-12 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc. Kuminga produced 27 points on the night.
Beyond the scoring, Kuminga produced four assists to just two turnovers and collected two steals. He finished his first Hawks game as a plus-16.
Following the game, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder assessed Kuminga’s display in his first set of action.
“The things that we’ve talked about as a team, clearly it was a focal point for him,” Snyder told reporters. “Our playing with the pass is, as you’ve heard me say it since October, and he really demonstrated that right away. Even to the point where it’s okay to shoot, too. He let himself get in the game. Got connected with his teammates and just let the game come to him. I think that shows a lot of maturity on his part and shows a lot of kind of how he feels about the group.”
It’s too early to tell if the Hawks got a steal at the 2026 trade deadline or not, but they are justified in thinking so early on, based on Kuminga’s debut.
The 23-year-old forward comes from the Golden State Warriors, where he started his NBA career in 2021. At the time, Kuminga was a seventh-overall pick for a team that would go on to win the NBA Finals during his rookie season.
As a rookie, Kuminga played an important reserve role for Golden State. The fact that he played 70 games, plus 16 postseason outings amid a title-winning year, is a major plus for any hopeful contender.
Although Kuminga fell out of favor with the Warriors, getting left out of the rotation for much of the 2025-2026 season before the trade, he still carries 278 games of experience with him. Kuminga averaged 12.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 50 percent from the field throughout his Warriors tenure.
The Hawks swapped out the veteran center Kristaps Porzingis for Kuminga on February 5. Atlanta added Kuminga’s $23.7 million salary for the 2025-2026 season.
They have a team option to decide on before the deadline in late June. If the Hawks want to lock in another year with Kuminga, it would cost $24.3 million. This upcoming stretch will help the Hawks figure it all out. So far, the run is off to a good start.
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