Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga enters key season with Dikembe Mutombo on his mind

LAIE, Hawaii – A week ago, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga was driving to work with optimism about a potential breakout NBA All-Star season. But as the Democratic Republic of Congo native approached the Chase Center, his joy turned to sadness after learning that his legendary fellow countryman Dikembe Mutombo had died.

“I was driving to the arena with my friend on media day, playing music and driving to ‘The City’ [San Francisco],” Kuminga said at the Warriors’ practice at BYU-Hawaii on Oct. 4. “He opened his Instagram and the first picture that popped up was about the death of Mutombo. And then I shut the music down. We just stayed silent and didn’t talk to each other for a little bit.

“I started thinking, ‘Why? What’s up? What’s going on?’ It was bad news to hear that early. Bad news in general. It was very sad. I knew he was sick. I texted him a couple of months ago to check on him. I knew he was sick, but I didn’t know he was very, very sick.”

Mutombo died at age 58 on Sept. 30 from brain cancer. The Basketball Hall of Famer is second in NBA history in blocks behind fellow African Hakeem Olajuwon. The eight-time NBA All-Star was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year four times and had his No. 55 jersey retired with the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.

Mutombo may be remembered even more as a humanitarian. The NBA’s first global ambassador opened up a much-needed hospital and school in his hometown of Kinshasa. Mutombo also played perhaps the biggest role in convincing the NBA to start the Basketball Africa League and was a regular at BAL events.

“I knew about Mutombo before I knew about most popular NBA players like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] and all those other greats. My dad used to always talk about him, and he played against him when he was growing up,” said Kuminga, whose hometown of Goma is about three-hour flight from Kinshasa. “[Mutombo] made a big hospital to help a lot of people that was seeking it. Congo did not have the type of hospital that had a lot of things like MRIs. The hospital was also built in his mom’s name. It was great for him to do that.

“A lot of my people from my hometown used to go to India and South Africa to get medical support. They don’t even need to go that far anymore. They just need to go to Mutombo’s hospital. He also meant a lot to student-athletes [from the Congo]. It means everything.”

Starting at small forward, Kuminga had seven points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, 7 assists and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes in the Warriors’ 91-90 preseason opening win against the LA Clippers at the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center on Oct. 5. Kuminga said Mutombo was a mentor of his who he typically spoke to via text message, and added that the last time he saw Mutombo was when the Warriors played preseason games in Japan two years ago.

“The last time I saw Mutombo, he said, ‘Just keep doing, keep working. You are going to have a great future. Always remember where you come from,’ ” Kuminga said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has produced several NBA players such as Mutombo, Kuminga, Bismack Biyombo, D.J. Mbenga, Christian Eyenga, Emmanuel Mudiay and Oscar Tshiebwe. Mutombo not only has the most notable basketball résumé but was the only one to play in the NBA All-Star Game.

Kuminga has shown flashes of having NBA All-Star talent over his previous three seasons. The athletic 6-foot-7, 225-pounder averaged career-highs of 16.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes last season. With guard Klay Thompson going to the Dallas Mavericks as part of a sign-and-trade this summer, Kuminga is expected to have a much bigger role offensively alongside star Warriors guard Stephen Curry. With the 2025 NBA All-Star Game scheduled for San Francisco, Kuminga has extra motivation and an individual goal of making his first All-Star appearance this season.

“That is my trajectory. That is what I’ve been working towards,” Kuminga said. “I did as much as I could working out, getting my body ready, learning the game, working on things on defense. It’s just a matter of when we start playing now and I can show what I’ve been working on and how my game has grown.

“We have a different team. I’m not sure what is going to happen. But whatever happens, my mind is ready for everything.”

When asked his expectations for Kuminga, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “He needs to keep on the rise that he is on. He’s gotten better and better everybody. The 3-point shot is a big deal, especially in the modern NBA. For him to be able to catch and shoot consistently will open up the floor for him and for others.

“Defensively, just continuing to get better and using that athleticism, that force, in a way that really impacts our opponents. Those are the things that we are focused on.”

Kuminga, who turned 22 on Sunday, is also hopeful of landing a contract extension with the Warriors. The Warriors and Kuminga have expressed mutual interest in wanting to agree on an extension before the Oct. 21 rookie scale extension deadline. Kuminga is making $7.6 million in the final year of his contract and will be a restricted free agent in 2025 if an extension isn’t agreed to by the deadline.

“My agent is taking care of that. I need to focus on what I’m trying to accomplish. The more I accomplish, the more things like that handle themselves,” Kuminga said.

While Mutombo gone, there are several African basketball stars in the NBA and possible stars on the horizon.

There were 19 African-born players in the NBA last season, including Kuminga, 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and Indiana Pacers star forward Pascal Siakam. The NBA Academy Africa also has paid dividends of late as Duke signed center Khaman Maluach, the Toronto Raptors drafted big man Ulrich Chomche and the Utah Jazz signed Babacar Sane to an Exhibit 10 contract.

Kuminga is confident that Mutombo’s legacy will continue to live through the NBA’s current and future African players.

“I’m just trying to be great over here and do as much as I can,” said Kuminga, who last visited the Congo after the Warriors won an NBA championship in 2022. “Mutombo did as much as he could and he went back and helped. That is what it’s all about. Do as much as you can, whatever it is, as long as you’re giving back and showing the rest of the people the way that’s all that matters.

“I’ve been helping. Sending some stuff back. Helping people. Giving back shoes. Helping certain kids. I’m working on doing a camp when I go back at some point and helping a couple of [Congolese] students here, giving them scholarships for school and education.”