Kuminga’s unwavering confidence on display vs. Giannis originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Jonathan Kuminga has no shortage of confidence as an NBA rookie.
The 19-year-old forward has risen to nearly every challenge thrown his way. In Golden State’s 122-109 win over the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, he was faced with a new challenge.
The Greek Freak. And the way Kuminga played caught the attention of other stars around the league.
Matched up with Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo for the second time this season, Kuminga held his own against one of the league’s most imposing scorers. Kuminga joined “Warriors Live” on NBC Sports Bay Area after the game, and discussed both the matchup and the source of his unwavering confidence.
“It was really challenging,” Kuminga said. “With my ability to play defense on all the best players in the league, Coach [Steve] Kerr had to trust me. You don’t trust a lot of people going up against Giannis, going up against LeBron, so it’s just me out there stepping up, wanting to do that matchup every time. It makes the coach even trust me more, so I had to go out there and step up, and do the best I can to try and stop them.
“That confidence just came from where I came from. For you to make it, you just have to fight through anything, and anything is possible. That’s where my confidence came from because if I didn’t have any, I wouldn’t be in this situation or where I’m at today. You just have to keep up the confidence, even if you know you’re not able to do something. As long as I’m still confident, I know I’m capable of doing something.”
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Even though Kuminga and Giannis are in separate conferences — only facing each other twice during the regular season — the rookie will continue to look forward to playing against the two-time NBA MVP.
“It’s a tough matchup, you know,” Kuminga told 95.7 The Game after Saturday’s win. “As long as he’s still in the league and as long as I’m still in the league, it’s always going to be a matchup, no matter if we’ve got a bigger guy on the team to guard him. I want to guard him.”
No matter who’s matched up against him, the Warriors rookie will carry unwavering confidence into any challenge thrown his way.
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