Basketballghana.com understands recently crowned NBA Champion Jonathan Kuminga of the Golden State Warriors will play international basketball for Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kuminga will compete for DR Congo in the upcoming qualification games of the 2023 FIBA World Cup that is to be co-hosted by Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
DR Congo is in Group D and ranks second behind Senegal heading into the next phase of qualifiers that commences on July 1. Senegal, DR Congo and Egypt have the same record (two wins and a loss) and points (4) but Egypt ranks third in the group due to goal difference.
Kenya ranks bottom of the standings after losing all three games played in the previous window of qualification games. Congo plays Kenya on July 1 at 15:00 GMT.
Kuminga is coming off his first season in the NBA after getting drafted seventh overall in the 2021 Draft by the Warriors. In his first season, the 6 foot 7 inch Small Forward averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.9 minutes across 70 games in the regular season.
The 19 year old prior to his decision to play international basketball mulled over competing in the NBA Summer League to improve his game.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
