So Jonathan Kuminga isn’t going to live out his Sasuke Uchiha arc (iykyk) this season. HIs rollercoaster season, a dramatic two years in fact, hit a humiliating wall. The Atlanta Hawks have officially been eliminated from the playoffs in the worst fashion ever, suffering a blowout 89-140 loss to the New York Knicks. For Kuminga individually, the loss is marred by a historical record no one wants. It caps of a season not with redemption for the young forward but with vindication for Steve Kerr.

The forward found himself at the center of an unprecedented statistical meltdown in the decisive Game 6. Kuminga became the first player in the play-by-play era that began in 1997 to record a +/- of -40 in the first half of a playoff game. He finished with 11 points, two rebounds and three assists, shooting 3-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.

This staggering figure eclipsed the previous record of -39, set by Pacers player, Austin Croshere in a 2000 matchup between the Pacers and the Bucks.

For a player who arrived in Atlanta seeking to prove he was a franchise cornerstone, the performance served as a brutal reality check, especially given Jonathan Kuminga’s tumultuous history with the Golden State Warriors and their head coach Steve Kerr. Throughout his tenure in the Bay Area, JK’s relationship with Kerr was defined by a public tug-of-war over playing time and trust.

While Kuminga’s camp often leaked frustrations regarding a lack of consistent opportunities, Kerr maintained that the young forward had yet to master the winning habits required for the Warriors’ system. The Hawks learnt about the 23-year-old’s exact flaw that the Warriors knew about in this series.

Despite the strong 19 and 21-point outings in the first two games, JK’s efficiency from the three-point line is disproportionate to his enthusiasm to shoot from there. His three-point stat in these series (0-of-2 in Game 1, 1-of-4 in Game 2, 2-of-4 in Game 3, 0-of-6 in Game 4 and 1-of-5 in Game 5) is a staggering reflection of undeveloped skills. His career 33.2% shooting from the arc is why he didn’t fit in Kerr’s Stephen Curry-centric system.

The friction culminated in a mid-season trade to Atlanta, which was widely framed as JK’s escape from Kerr’s restrictive tyranny. NBA analysts and fellow players initially championed this move, suggesting that Kuminga’s ceiling was being artificially capped by Kerr’s veteran-heavy rotations. But the Hawks’ elimination has flipped the script on Kuminga.

Warriors fans taunt Jonathan Kuminga

Everyone who spent months debating the Kerr-Kuminga fallout, reacted with a mixture of shock and irony as the stats flashed across screens. Many fans immediately pointed back to the Warriors’ sideline, with one observer noting, “Now Kerr can sign his extension. He got the last laugh.”

Well, Kerr is not the only one who has to make a decision on his future with the Warriors. JK’s $24.3 million contract talks is due this offseason too. And he has a team option coming up. This elimination may not necessarily weigh into that. Unless the Hawks decide the problem Kerr couldn’t fix is too much of a gamble.

The idea that Kerr’s hesitance to fully trust Kuminga wih key rotation minutes may have been more accurate than the forward’s fans realized. While some got sarcastic about the historic blowout and the individual stat, joking, “Bro left the warriors and made history. You gotta respect it,” some grappled with sheer mathematical impossibility. “I’m a firm believer that single game +/- is pretty meaningless … But -40 in 12 minutes is insane.”

The only relief for Kuminga is that the majority don’t blame him for the Game 6 loss and most don’t think the individual +/- weigh in on the final box score as much as for oddmakers. Yet, even those attempting to defend the forward had to concede, “He is definitely not the reason they lost but how is this possible LOL.”

Kuminga’s elite production early in the series almost fell like an illusion to someone who had a humbling observation, “Bro thought he was Julius Erving for the first two games of this series came back to earth real quick.” The suddenness of the collapse was particularly jarring given Kuminga’s strong start to the postseason, leading some to mock the early hype by asking, “Wait, wut? I thought the Hawks won this series in 3 and Kuminga was the MVP of the series. What’d I miss?”

Among the many ecstatic Steve Kerr memes mocking Kuminga online, there were also those laughing about the “fresh start” narrative. Critics who felt the coach had been unfairly blamed were sarcastically chimed in, “He just needed a fresh start & new environment, it was Steve Kerr’s fault guys.”

Other Hawks players were not spared from the fallout either. CJ McCollum, who was terrorizing New York earlier in the series, had previously praised trades that brought him and Kuminga to Atlanta, stating, “(He) has championship DNA coming from the Warriors, he understands how to play the game the right way. He was in a not so great situation and now he’s found a happy home.”

This endorsement aged poorly in the eyes of many, leading to a blunt reaction from the gallery: “CJ should’ve kept his mouth shut, n—- always talking after 1 good game.”

For Kuminga, the “happy home” in Atlanta now faces a long summer of questions. The Hawks will likely deliberate  whether his historic first-half exit was a fluke or a confirmation of his former coach’s long-standing concerns.