why is jonathan kuminga not playing

Jonathan Kuminga is currently not playing mainly because of a lower back injury, on top of a recent stretch where he has also been a healthy scratch and the subject of trade speculation and coach’s decisions about the rotation. The immediate reason he missed the most recent Warriors game against the Thunder was that he was ruled out with lower back soreness.

Quick Scoop

• Jonathan Kuminga was officially listed out for the Warriors’ latest game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder due to lower back soreness/back injury.

• Before this injury designation, he had already been sitting multiple games as a “DNP – coach’s decision” and as a healthy scratch in 9 of the last 10 contests.

• His season has also been wrapped in trade rumors and questions about his long‑term fit in Golden State’s rotation, which has contributed to reduced minutes and games where he simply doesn’t get on the floor.

What’s happening right now

• For the Thunder game mentioned in recent reports, Kuminga was first added to the injury report with lower back soreness and then downgraded to out, so he was unavailable to play at all.

• The Warriors are already dealing with multiple absences (Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler, and others), and Kuminga’s back issue is described as another setback in a season where injuries keep piling up.

Beyond the injury: rotation and rumors

• Even before the back issue, Kuminga had been out of the rotation for long stretches, with reports noting that he was a healthy scratch in the vast majority of recent games.

• Coverage around the team has highlighted that he was benched after a hot start, that his role has been inconsistent, and that league insiders widely expect him to be traded before the early‑February deadline, which adds another layer to why he hasn’t been playing regular minutes.

Is this long term?

• Recent coverage frames the back injury as real but not necessarily a season‑ending type situation; there has been no clear public timetable from the team on his exact return date.

• How much he plays once healthy will likely depend on a mix of his health, Steve Kerr’s rotation choices, and whether any trade actually happens before the deadline.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.