Shortly after Kuminga’s impressive first game with Atlanta, a social media account claimed the 23-year-old had posted and then deleted an Instagram story that read:
The post spread quickly, feeding into the narrative that Kuminga harbored bitterness toward the Golden State Warriors after his departure.
Kuminga shared a total of eight Instagram stories on game night, documenting everything from his arrival at the arena to moments after the final buzzer. None of those posts included the alleged message.
He poured in 27 points off the bench, the highest scoring output in a Hawks debut as a reserve since the 1970–71 season.
Kuminga’s relationship with the Warriors was indeed complicated. Reports indicated that head coach Steve Kerr initially preferred Franz Wagner in the 2021 draft over Kuminga.
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas had a message for Kerr ahead of any future matchup between the Hawks and Warriors:
“Steve Kerr, I’m telling you as a hooper, don’t double. You didn’t double nobody all year. Whoever was playing in front of him, check up.”
Jonathan Kuminga didn’t post a diss track about the Warriors. He didn’t delete anything. He just went out and scored 27 points in his Hawks debut, proving his value with his game rather than his Instagram.
The rumor was fiction. The performance was fact. In an era of manufactured controversy, sometimes the truth is simpler—and more impressive.