What led to Jonathan Kuminga’s historic debut with Hawks

ATLANTA – In 24 minutes of playing time, everybody was reminded of what Jonathan Kuminga could do when he’s given the opportunity to play.

The athleticism. The downhill driving. The unselfishness.

Forget about all the things that happened in his final months of being traded by the Golden State Warriors. Kuminga has always had the skills to impact winning, but he wasn’t given much of a chance to do that at some point. With the Hawks, he’ll be able to do that, and he showed it in his debut against the Washington Wizards.

His first shot came in transition, as he sidestepped his defender and drove to the lane for a layup. His next make was a dunk in transition. From there, he got into a groove and started knocking down three-pointers over defenders.

Jonathan Kuminga's first bucket as a Hawk! pic.twitter.com/xY2hhDBrJ2

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) February 25, 2026

Kuminga ended the game with 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. No Hawk had ever finished a debut with 25+ points in fewer than 30 minutes.

“I got confidence from my teammates,” Kuminga said to reporters after the game. “They told me not to worry about anything. Just go out there and be you. Everything will fall through. I just had so many people in my ear telling me to go be you, go play basketball. The first two minutes I was just thinking about it, but after that, everything was cool.”

Head coach Quin Snyder always speaks about the basic things the Hawks need to do in order to win games. Pass the ball, defend, and run. Kuminga hit all of those benchmarks in his debut.

“The things that we’ve talked about as a team clearly were a focal point, Snyder said. “Playing with the pass, which you’ve heard me say since October, and he really demonstrated that right away to the point where I told him it’s okay to shoot too. But he let himself in the game, how he connected with his teammates, and just let the game come to him. Which I think shows a lot of maturity on his part and how he feels about the group.”

His teammates had been raving about playing with him over the past few days, and he didn’t disappoint them. All four of his assists came in the first quarter, and there were a few times where he could’ve taken the open shot, but instead, he sent the extra pass.

“Another person that’s going to put pressure on the rim, get in the paint,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said. “His willingness to pass and just fit in within the system. Having fun with everybody. He was always locked in and vocal throughout the whole game, so it was cool for him to come out and do that.”

For all the noise that had been surrounding Kuminga, he easily shut down every rumor and every negative report about him in one night. If there was a stat for smiles, Kuminga would’ve led the night in that category.

“People that really know me, all my teeth are out. I stay smiling, I stay laughing all the time,” Kuminga said. “Being around the guys, I created a bond with them since I got here. Good people, good crew. We all want to win. Winning comes with joy, so as long as we’re all having fun out there enjoying, it’s going to help us win games.”

It was just the start, but it was a good start for Kuminga. In order for people to really thrive, all it takes is a change of scenery for them to become the best version of themselves. It sounds like that’s what Kuminga needed, and he may be with the team that can help him to get to where he wants to go in his career.

Kuminga isn’t going to score 27 points in 24 minutes every game. He’s not going to have 12 shot attempts. He knows that, but all he’s focused on is winning.

“It doesn’t matter if I got out there and shoot two shots, Kuminga said. “As long as it’s impacting us to win, that’s all that really matters.”

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