Jonathan Kuminga refutes Stephen A. Smith’s claims of him having attitude problems

Golden State Warriors second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga has responded to past comments made by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith where the latter said he has attitude problems.

During a recent interview with The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, Kuminga explained how surprised he was to hear the comments from Smith.

“Man, I don’t even know where he got that information. I never worry about it. I never respond to it. I never want to talk about it. It’s just wasting my energy,” Kuminga said.

Kuminga then explained that he doesn’t worry about what analysts like Smith say because they’re just paid to talk. He also touched on the fact that he knows how much work he puts into his game.

“I never worry about what Stephen A. or whoever say because he gets paid to talk about people. I don’t blame him. ... Because at the end of the day, I know what I do and what I don’t,” Kuminga said.

Key figures in the Golden State Warriors’ organization have also expressed positive sentiments regarding Kuminga’s work ethic.

During an appearance on “The TK Show” with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami last month, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke very highly of Kuminga’s development.

“JK’s had a really great summer, he’s done everything we asked of him. He’s traveled some because he’s played for his national team during the summer, but he’s been working really hard,” Kerr said.

Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala also came to Kuminga’s defense on an episode of his podcast “Point Forward,” last month.

“My young fella, I’m on his head. He took some licks from Stephen A. I don’t know how warranted they were because from what I heard he been doing what he supposed to do this summer,” Iguodala said.

Iguodala then talked about what he has seen from Kuminga during his time representing Congo in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers.

“I just saw a highlight tape from him playing for his country. He’s over there right now playing in their international games. Kuminga’s getting busy. I mean fastbreak, reverse, pull-ups, he’s in his bag. ISOs, getting to it, making shots,” Iguodala said.

At least Jonathan Kuminga can rest assured that his team has his back, regardless of what others say about him.

For The Athletic's full interview with Jonathan Kuminga, click here.

What exactly did Stephen A. Smith say about Jonathan Kuminga?

ESPN NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith’s original comments on Jonathan Kuminga’s work ethic came during a "First Take" episode back in August. In the episode, Smith first praised Warriors youngsters James Wiseman and Moses Moody before revealing his concerns about Kuminga.

“I’m telling you right now, I expect Moody and Wiseman to be significant. I’m worried about Kuminga. I’m hearing too many things about Kuminga off the court in terms of his head, the level of discipline that he lacks, you understand?” Smith said.

Smith even went as far as to say that Kuminga is shortchanging the Warriors.

“Some of the foolishness … I’m talking attitude, I’m not talking actions. I’m saying the attitude, the level of focus, commitment, determination, just putting your head down and doing the work. I’m hearing that he’s shortchanging the Warriors in that regard, and he’s got to get his act together because I’m a Jonathan Kuminga fan,” Smith continued.

We’ve already heard Jonathan Kuminga’s reaction to Stephen A. Smith’s comments. Now, it will be interesting to see if Kuminga can prove Smith wrong with his play this season.

In five preseason games for the Warriors, Kuminga finished with averages of 10.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on 48.4% shooting.