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5 predictions for No. 1 2021 basketball recruit Jonathan Kuminga: College or go pro?

By Anthony Brown

Jonathan Kuminga dunks. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Jonathan Kuminga dunks. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Jonathan Kuminga
(Photo by Thomas URBAIN / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS URBAIN/AFP via Getty Images) /

No. 1 Jonathan Kuminga could turn pro

The NBA G-League is an interesting and lucrative option for Jonathan Kuminga because he will receive $500,000 as an elite prospect for one season in the league before having the ability to declare for the NBA Draft the following year.

In addition to that, player development opportunities will be available to Kuminga such as academic scholarships, life skills training, and mentorship programs. He will gain the experience of playing against grown men in the G-League and that will ultimately prepare him to make the jump to the NBA.

If he chose to go the NBA G-League route, he would be following in the footsteps of 2020 No.1 Recruit Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd who de-committed from Michigan and both RJ Hampton and Lamelo Ball who chose to play professionally in Australia. This new pathway program could mean a lot of top-tier recruiting talent will choose the program over two or three years in college. Since the main goal is to get to the NBA, it makes plenty of sense for them to go this route. It is going to change the landscape of college basketball recruiting for years to come.

The G-League has provided the NBA with a good amount of talented players who have been called up including Kendrick Nunn (Santa Cruz Warriors to Miami Heat), Danuel House (Rio Grande Valley Vipers to Houston Rockets) and Andre Ingram who played 10 years in the G-League for three teams before being called up to the Los Angeles Lakers. He had the experience of a lifetime against the Rockets scoring 19 points to go along with three rebounds and blocks. Quin Cook, Seth Curry, and Hassan Whiteside are some other G-League players who have gone on to succeed in the NBA as well.

Jonathan Kuminga would be smart to choose the NBA G-League Pathway program because he would cut out the middle-man that is college basketball, learn from pros, and get paid nicely for one season. The NBA G-League Pathway is a much better more player-focused system than college basketball’s one and done rule which has come under scrutiny over the years. Kuminga would be better off choosing this path.

Next. Recruiting predictions for every 5-star 2021 recruit. dark

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