NBA Draft: Warriors Take G League Forward Kuminga, Arkansas Guard Moody in First Round
SAN FRANCISCO (AP/CBS SF) -- The Golden State Warriors selected Congolese G League forward Jonathan Kuminga and Arkansas guard Moses Moody with their first two picks in the NBA Draft Thursday night.
The MOMENT @JonathanKuming6 joined #DubNation #DubsDraft || @Oracle pic.twitter.com/bKSIw03b2c
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) July 30, 2021
The 18-year-old Kuminga is one of several players who took the preps-to-pros route to the draft. He has been playing for G League team Ignite in Walnut Creek, giving him a local tie.
The 6-6, 210-pound Kuminga was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and had become one of the nation's top college prospects before opting to play in the G League, which offers an alternative for elite prospects who want to bypass college basketball.
He averaged 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds in 13 games with Ignite while offering rim-attacking athleticism and the ability to drive the paint. Kuminga has the potential to become a multi-position defender and has roughly 6-11 wingspan.
Concerns expressed about Kuminga focus on his shooting touch and overall offensive polish, as he is still developing. He shot just 38.7% with Ignite and made 16 of 65 3-pointers (24.6%) along with shooting 62.5% at the foul line.
With the 14th overall selection, the Warriors picked Arkansas shooting guard Moses Moody.
The one-and-done guard averaged 16.8 points to help Arkansas push to within a win of the Final Four. At 6-5 and 211 pounds with a nearly 7-1 wingspan, it was anticipated Moody could go in the second half of the lottery picks.
"With the 14th pick, the Golden State Warriors select..."#DubsDraft || @Oracle pic.twitter.com/frA7Oq7byS
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) July 30, 2021
Golden State expects far less pressure to be on this group of rookies than last season when key players like Klay Thompson were injured.
The Warriors are eager and ready to welcome back Stephen Curry's Splash Brother Thompson after he missed consecutive seasons following a surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee suffered during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals then an operation for a ruptured right Achilles that he injured ahead of training camp last November.
Golden State, which also had the 14th overall selection, expects far less pressure to be on this group of rookies than last season when key players like Klay Thompson were injured.
The Warriors are eager and ready to welcome back Stephen Curry's Splash Brother Thompson after he missed consecutive seasons following a surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee suffered during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals then an operation for a ruptured right Achilles that he injured ahead of training camp last November.
"The hard part about last year is none of that happened," Myers said. "I think James practiced one time before the regular season. And then we also after his first game, you're kind of like, 'Wow, he can do this, he can do that,' but how does it all fit with what we're trying to do? That's the challenge of kind of skipping those steps."
© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.