Coming into the year, Jonathan Kuminga was a wildcard for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The idea of him has always been awesome, but at times the actual product on the court was much different. The Timberwolves were willing to take that gamble this offseason with their need for a starting power forward, and that gamble is paying dividends as the season.
For Kuminga to thrive in the Wolves' situation, his shot diet needed to be simplified. The ideal role for Kuminga was something similar to Aaron Gordon on the Denver Nuggets.
So far, he's playing that role to perfection, and he's one of the main reasons why this team has started the season 3-0.
Jonathan Kuminga has been the Wolves' version of Aaron Gordon this season
Kuminga has never been known as an elite 3-point shooter, and for most of his career, he's hovered around the low 30s percentage-wise. This is eerily similar to Gordon earlier in his career, too.
For the first 10 seasons of Gordon's career, he never once shot over 35 percent from three except for the first half of the 2020-21 season with the Orlando Magic, where he got traded to the Denver Nuggets midseason.
But since the start of the 2024-25 season, Gordon has transformed his game into that of a respected shooter. Since then, he's shot 43.6, 38.9, and 40 percent so far this season from 3-point land. It's early in the year, but Kuminga has done the same thing. So far through three games, Kuminga is shooting a blistering 63.6 percent from 3-point range on also a career high in attempts at 3.7 per game.
Kuminga's on-ball defense has also been stout. Likewise, this has been a key part of Gordon's impact in Denver.
Gordon and Kuminga's career trajectories are eerily similar. Both were looked at/wanted to be on-ball creators and prioritized scoring options early in their careers, but they quickly realized that just wasn't going to be their role. Gordon bought into being a connective, jack-of-all-trades wing who helped Denver win their first-ever championship and was rewarded with a four-year, $133 million contract.
Kuminga likely won't get that kind of deal, especially from Minnesota, given where they stand financially, but that is his pathway to becoming a proven starter, a winner, and earning a lucrative long-term contract.
So far, he's showing that he's bought into what the team needs from him, and he has been an instrumental reason as to why the Wolves starters have the best net rating out of any starting unit in the league so far.
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