“LeBron-esque power”: Warriors fans hilariously point out Steve Kerr granting Jonathan Kuminga’s wishes after Shams Charania’s report

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been acquiescing to forward Jonathan Kuminga’s recent wishes. This led fans to have some fun remarking about the 21-year-old’s massive influence.

Following the Warriors’ loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, a report came out regarding Kuminga’s discontentment. Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, he reportedly “lost faith” in Kerr after being benched for the final 18 minutes of the game.

However, after playing just 19 minutes against Denver, Kuminga played a team-high 36 minutes in the Warriors’ win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Additionally, the 2021 No. 7 pick has since gotten another one of his requests granted: starting alongside teammate Andrew Wiggins.

Kuminga recently voiced confusion over why he and Wiggins couldn’t play together. Following his comments, Kerr opted to start the two together against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

The lineup change led to some entertaining commentary from fans on X, formerly Twitter, regarding Kuminga’s sway. Some even jokingly compared his influence to that of LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James.

“JK has LeBron-esque power,” one fan said.

“Man, f**k it. Trade Steph [Curry] and build around LeBron Kuminga,” another said.

Meanwhile, others called for Warriors superstar point guard Steph Curry to be more demanding like Kuminga.

“Steph could learn a thing or two from this,” one fan said.

“Wish Steph took did more of this. [Golden State] is no longer the best [organization] in the league, it’s average at best and you can't be a passive participant. Apply pressure like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Bron would,” another said.

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Kerr acquiescing to Jonathan Kuminga’s recent demands:

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Steve Kerr says he and Jonathan Kuminga have smoothed things over

As for Steve Kerr’s thoughts on Jonathan Kuminga’s reported discontentment with his rotations, he shared them on Friday.

Kerr spoke about how he and Kuminga talked one-on-one about his concerns, highlighting how he always communicates openly with his players.

“We talked,” Kerr said. “Obviously those things are better discussed behind the scenes. Any time something like that goes public it creates a distraction. It's important for all of our guys, and I talked to our whole team about it. You have an issue? I'm here. I am the most accessible coach in the league, probably. My door is always open.”

Kerr has had the difficult task of balancing the minutes of Golden State’s veterans and young guys this season. It has led to mixed results, with the Warriors (17-18) sitting 10th in the Western Conference entering Sunday.

However, most would agree that Kuminga remains one of the team’s highest-upside players. So, it appears that Kerr will continue giving him extended chances to develop.

Through 34 games, Kuminga is averaging 12.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.7 3-pointers per game on 50.6% shooting.

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