{"id":163745,"date":"2025-10-22T02:56:49","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=163745"},"modified":"2025-10-22T03:14:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T07:14:59","slug":"jonathan-kuminga-passes-test-in-lakers-warriors-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/22\/jonathan-kuminga-passes-test-in-lakers-warriors-season-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Kuminga Passes Test In Lakers-Warriors Season Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

For NBA fans, the summer was dominated by discussions about Jonathan Kuminga<\/a> and the Golden State Warriors. On one side of the aisle were those that believed Kuminga was a poor fit with<\/a> the Warriors. On the other side were those that thought he was a subpar player, behind the curve developmentally<\/a>. Very few people looked at the situation with the type of nuance that it required, leading to extreme takes.<\/p>\n

In the Warriors 2025-26 season opener, Kuminga put those concerns to rest, at least for a night.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Kuminga Passes Test In Lakers-Warriors Season Opener<\/h2>\n

Golden State and the LeBron James<\/a>-less Los Angeles Lakers had a tough act to follow<\/a> thanks to a thrilling season opener that saw the Oklahoma City Thunder outlast the Houston Rockets in double-OT.<\/p>\n

They didn’t disappoint.<\/p>\n

Picking Up Where They Left Off<\/h3>\n

In a hard-fought battle, both teams struggled to gain separation in the first half.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Oct 21, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts after an offensive foul call on guard Marcus Smart (36) during the first half against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Warriors forward Jimmy Butler<\/a> picked up right where he left off last season, doing plenty of damage from the free-throw line. On a related note, while Butler had 10 free-throw attempts in the first half, Lakers guards Austin Reaves<\/a> (3) and Marcus Smart<\/a> (4) were racking up fouls. Meanwhile, Lakers point guard Luka Doncic<\/a> was in midseason form, stuffing the stat sheet and leading all scorers with 22 points. Across from Doncic was Warriors leader Stephen Curry<\/a>. Despite entering his 17th NBA season, Curry had tallied 14 points and three steals in 16 minutes.<\/p>\n

Conspicuous Kuminga<\/h3>\n

Kuminga started the game, which was another point of debate this offseason. He conspicuously did not play well in the first half, at least from a scoring standpoint. In 16 minutes, he was 1-6 from the field and 1-3 from 3, scoring four points. However, he was moving the ball well, leading to him racking up five first-half assists. Though he didn’t stop Doncic every time down, he also played very solid defense<\/a> against the Lakers’ top scorer.<\/p>\n

\n

Jonathan Kuminga doing it all for the Dubs…<\/p>\n

13 PTS on 5-5 shooting in a DOMINANT 3Q \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/agZcbUNu7d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n