Jonathan Kuminga’s rise has been one of, if not the Warriors’ most intriguing storylines throughout the 2023-24 NBA season.

The 21-year-old showed signs of being ready to take the next step earlier in the season, but was relegated to a backup role until one game — and a difficult conversation — changed Kuminga’s path in his third year.

Kuminga was benched for the final 18 minutes of the Warriors’ 130-127 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 4 at Chase Center after scoring 16 points in 18:57 on the court, which irritated both Golden State fans and the former lottery pick.

The next day, The Athletic’s Shams Charania said that Kuminga had “lost faith” in Kerr and that his benching against the Nuggets was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Kerr, sensing his young star’s developing displeasure, summoned Kuminga into his office for a conversation later that week, Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer said in his latest feature piece.

The talk was fruitful, and Kuminga shared with Fischer what he had informed Kerr in the private meeting.

“I just told him how I feel, and he told me how he feels,” Kuminga told Yahoo! Sports. “Things he wanted me to do more to increase my playing time. After that, I just went out there and enjoyed myself, especially playing for him. He’s been coaching me harder. Sometimes you don’t understand something until it’s in front of your eyes.

“Someone wants big things for you, so they coach you harder. I believe that’s what it was, just him pushing me harder every time because he expects great things from me. Without him, I wouldn’t be on this court. I wouldn’t have the spirit to go out and play.”

Kerr believed Kuminga was not as focused on the court as he should have been, and that his interactions with his coach since the private meeting had fueled his motivation.

“He felt like I wasn’t locked in,” Kuminga told Fischer. “In basketball, every possession matters, therefore I wasn’t focused on certain possessions. He told me, ‘I need you to do the simple things that will benefit our team.’ He keeps saying that to me every time we talk.

“They think I switched gears. It isn’t, though. I needed to just keep going and growing every day. Locking in even more. It is not the haircut. I had an established attitude.”

Even with Draymond Green’s return from an extended ban, Kuminga has been a fixture in the Warriors’ starting lineup and has been a driving force behind the team’s recent success leading up to the NBA All-Star break.

Kerr and the Warriors will rely on Kuminga more than ever as they attempt to climb the Western Conference standings and secure one of the top six playoff seeds.