At seventh overall, Jonathan Kuminga was Golden State’s first lottery pick in the NBA draft. For years, Kuminga has been lauded for his size, speed and otherworldly-potential, but his journey to bring those skills to fruition hasn’t been the easiest.

Kuminga was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and played basketball ever since he could remember. He was born with basketball in his blood, as is his whole family—his parents hooped, his cousin, Emmanuel Mudiay, plays for the Utah Jazz, his other cousin, Omari Gudul, currently plays professionally in Romania, and his older brother played at Texas Tech. Even though he was born to play basketball, hooping competitively in Africa certainly wasn’t as convenient as it is in the states.

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