Tonight, the Golden State Warriors took on the Oklahoma City Thunder at a massive disadvantage. The Warriors were without their three best players: Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, as well as role players such as De’Anthony Melton and Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga’s absence, in particular, drew considerable attention, especially because of one viral moment.

An X post from @ShervonFakhimi showcased a casual text exchange between Kuminga and head coach Steve Kerr, seemingly from Kuminga’s perspective, where the ‘Manager’ asked him to step in to fill in for others’ absences.

But the fact is that the communication was not between Kuminga and Kerr, but an old meme resurfacing across social media for years, with the phrasing, structure, and tone all recognizable. That humorous nature is what made the post go viral.

This becomes clear once we examine the user’s profile.

They’re a fan, making normal tweets and jokes, and this just happens to be one of them. If this were a reliable source or a real leak, it would have been covered by reporters, beat writers, or NBA insiders, but no one corroborated the screenshot, for obvious reasons.

Kuminga was ruled out of tonight’s game just before tipoff, due to a lower back issue after being ruled ‘questionable’ just a few hours beforehand. This was especially unfortunate considering that he was expected to play, with Kerr telling @957thegame “he’ll be out there.”

Steve Kerr clarifies Jonathan Kuminga’s late scratch and future injury outlook

Steve Kerr made it clear after tonight’s demoralizing loss to the Thunder that Jonathan Kuminga’s absence wasn’t something the Warriors planned for. According to him, the injury happened just before the game, which explains why he was a late addition to the injury list and why confusion spread so quickly online.

When pressed about whether the injury could linger, Kerr didn’t soften the blow.

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“I don’t know. I have no idea.”

There was no diagnosis, no timeline, and no attempt to frame the situation as an optimistic outlook.

Kerr also spoke on the Warriors’ wider injury situation.

Jimmy Butler, who woke up with an illness, stayed at home tonight, with Draymond Green expected to return. Curry, on the other hand, was hopeful, but his status seemed unresolved. With Kuminga’s late exit fitting a larger pattern of roster instability, it’s clear that this is just reflective of the Warriors’ bad injury luck.

The team lost by 37 points to the Thunder, getting completely buried by the defending champions, led by 30 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with no one from Golden State scoring more than 13 points. The Warriors’ next game is tomorrow, on the second night of a back-to-back against the Utah Jazz.