Klay responds to Kuminga's monster Summer League slam
The score was 49-52 when the number seven overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Jonathan Kuminga, decided to hold the ball for one last shot before the end of the first half. With seven seconds left on the game clock, Kuminga put the ball on the floor near the top of the key and went to work. The 18-year-old dribbled hard to his right side before stopping on a dime and stepping back in an instant. He gave his defender a filthy cross-over back to his right side, proceeded downhill towards the rim, and finally took flight off of two feet from about 13 feet away from the baseline. He hammered home the one-handed dunk, and it sent everyone watching into a frenzy. Most notably, play-by-play commentator and former WNBA player, Renee Montgomery, who had the amazing call.
Elite Call @ReneeMontgomery pic.twitter.com/jaD0yMBYyv
— warriorsworld (@warriorsworld) August 13, 2021
It was truly a special sight to see. We were all waiting for a massive dunk from Kuminga but he just couldn’t quite keep any of those poster-worthy dunks down in the Warriors’ previous game against the Orlando Magic as he rimmed out maybe three or four of them. Still, you knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. And when he finally put one down, he took the roof off of the building at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
Shortly after, Klay Thompson took to Instagram where he re-shared the dunk on his story to his nearly 10 million followers. He included the text: “Sheeesh !! Put em in a blender then rook!”.
This prompted one to wonder if Klay would eventually be extending an invitation to Kuminga on his famous boat. The same one that second-year player and Golden State center, James Wiseman, was on not too long ago.
Klay and James Wiseman on a boat is a VIBE 🌊 @KlayThompson @BigTicket_JW pic.twitter.com/zgie70IqP4
— Overtime (@overtime) July 2, 2021
Safe to say Kuminga’s gonna get an invite on the boat @KlayThompson pic.twitter.com/H30U32ny2u
— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) August 14, 2021
Whether Thompson extends the boat invite to Kuminga or not, it clearly seems like he was enjoying what he was seeing out of the rookie in summer league. Also, it should be noted that by Klay re-sharing the video, as I’m sure he knew, it could help ease the transitionary period for Kuminga onto his new team, which I would imagine could go a long way for an 18-year-old teenager just coming into the league.
Kuminga finished the game with 18 points and seven rebounds in about 26 minutes on the floor. The Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 94-84, and will now look to face the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. Maybe we’ll get to see another Kuminga poster, or two.