Cuminga (19, 2.03m) Born in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He inherited the height from his parents. His mother played volleyball, his father basketball. He started dribbling the orange ball when he was two years old. He moved to the United States at 16, directly at Huntington High School in West Virginia. This year in the high school league with 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Cuminga moved to another school – to Patrick in New Jersey, where he starred again and suffered a troublesome ankle injury. To colleges, refused. In 2020 he decided to join a new NBA Development League program to develop young players.
Steve Kerr selected him in seventh place in the last draft. He had previously refused a prestigious scholarship from Duke College after skipping high school to the Development League.
His tremendous performance against the Bulls no longer surprised anyone. It was his third game in a row in which he scored in double digits.
“When you look at where Yannis is now, and you think of him in his days as a rookie – I at least see JK in front of my eyes. He’s still inexperienced, does not know much about the NBA, but that’s exactly how Yannis was when he came to this league,” Kerr explained. “He received gifts from God. A tremendous leap from the place, athletically unique. Their exploitation allows him to build a base, and from there, the shooting and understanding of the game will only improve.”
