Many of Jonathan Kuminga’s days this summer started with a 4:20 a.m. wake-up for a 90-minute on-court training session. After that, as the sun rose, he’d get a one-hour lift in. He’d head home for a nap and lunch before returning to the gym for his third workout of the day in the afternoon.
Gibou Njie’s days were even longer. Kuminga’s personal photographer and close confidant would often work out before Kuminga in the morning, then sift through the hard drives he’d fill up during Kuminga’s workouts for social media projects when the day was done.
This was a massive summer for Kuminga, the former No. 7 pick heading into his fourth NBA season. He is Golden State’s de facto best chance to help Steph Curry return to contention. He’s eligible for a rookie contract extension many in his draft class received, but the team still isn’t exactly sure how he fits with the players around him.
So this offseason, Kuminga amped up the work. Two months in Miami for three-a-days, a few weeks training in Los Angeles, back to the Bay and then to Oahu for training camp. Between it all, he hit Milan and Paris for fashion events and Cabo for a family vacation.
At every stop, every country, every session, Njie —the 26-year-old goes by “Eye G” — had a front-row seat.
“Everywhere I went, it was moments captured,” Eye G said. “It’s just the places a camera can take you.”
Kuminga has known Eye G for years. They talk all the time — about basketball, life, branding and the future. Kuminga trusts him with “a lot of big stuff,” and the photographer considers the Kumingas his extended family.
“Eye G’s more than just a cameraman,” Kuminga said. “I don’t even need him to take pictures sometimes, just for him to be around means a lot.”
Eye G met Kuminga in the summer of 2021 when he was preparing for the draft in Miami. Kuminga was training with Eye G’s cousin, who put the two in touch when Kuminga said he was looking for a photographer. At the time, Eye G was working with former NBA star John Wall, Ball Is Life, SLAM and the G League’s Overtime Elite.
The south Florida native was always drawn to videography and photography growing up. He’d record his high school football team on his iPhone and started making YouTube highlight videos the year he was cut from the basketball team as a freshman.
“For me, photography is a place where my problems don’t go,” Eye G said. “When I’m shooting I’m creative. There’s three places my problems don’t follow me: a gym, in front of my computer, and when I’m shooting. It’s just me. Stillness, calmness. Capturing a moment.”
When they first started working together, Kuminga asked Eye G what his goals were; it takes a certain trust to let someone in on their private life. Eye G said his passion is exploring the authenticity behind sports — what it really takes, behind closed doors, for athletes to become elite. In 10 years, he wants to have his own production company telling short stories in sports.
Eye G made a good first impression, and Kuminga kept inviting him to hang around and shoot photos and videos. Soon enough, Kuminga asked Eye G to join him and his family on draft night, when the Warriors selected him.
Kuminga headed off to the Bay, where he won the 2022 NBA title as a rookie. Eye G stayed back to work with Wall and on his part-time gigs. He’d only really taken photography seriously when he graduated in 2020 from Regis College in Massachusetts, and his career was just taking off. The two checked in from afar with regular texts and FaceTimes.
Then, right after the championship, Kuminga called and told him he needed him in the Bay.
“I was in North Carolina, in Raleigh with John (Wall),” Eye G said. “John was like, ‘Man, you gotta get outta here.’ He told me to go to the parade, I went to the parade, shot that. And me and JK just kept growing and growing and growing. I was still going from him to John, and next thing you know, JK was like, ‘You know what, you should move in with me. Like, let’s take this thing to another level.’ The rest is history.”
That history helped bring Eye G from 45 followers and his equipment stolen out of his trunk to nearly 20,000 followers four years later.
As a lifelong hooper with African roots (Eye G’s family is from Gambia; Kuminga grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo) and a goal-oriented person, the photographer feels like he has a lot in common with Kuminga.
“We just click,” said Eye G, who played Division III basketball. “His work ethic is like my work ethic.”
The two push each other. When Eye G was overweight, Kuminga encouraged him to embark on a weight-loss journey. He’s down to 225 pounds to 270, partly because of Kuminga’s unrelenting support.
“It’s annoying as hell sometimes,” Eye G said. “But JK wants people around him that believe in themselves more than anything. And the moment you don’t believe in yourself, he’s going to tell you.”
Kuminga also encourages his photographer to post, post, post. When the 22-year-old decided to bleach his hair blonde in Mexico, Eye G launched it publicly in an 18-slide Instagram post.
“You can always go back and feel a moment or you can look at a picture and you can just feel the emotion looking at a picture,” Eye G said. “I remember, for example, I was growing up watching Steph a lot, and I always used to see that no-look turnaround jumper he always does, I always wanted to capture it. And I ended up getting it. My first no-look thing – it’s actually hung up in my room.”
A moment, Eye G said, can last forever. From Miami to Europe to Hawaii this offseason, the moments centered around Kuminga in a gym. In Los Angeles, he worked with Jamal “Dash” Lovell, whose clients include Paul George and Jaylen Brown. Kuminga aimed to improve his 3-point shot, build muscle and make himself comfortable in spots where the Warriors’ offense often puts him. In his words: to make himself a more complete player.
Eye G watched as Kuminga would shoot 20 corner 3s, starting at 13-for-20. Week by week, the number would increase — 15 makes, then 17.
“Then he’s at 20-for-20,” Eye G said. “Just getting stronger, bouncier. He’s a student, he’s a sponge. He wants to learn.”
In addition to shooting on his camera, Eye G would take videos on his phone, uploading workout footage to their shared album. Right after leaving the court, Kuminga would pore through it, taking note of his footwork or if he got low enough on a crossover.
“JK is a guy that puts a lot of time in, loves the game and really works at it,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said at media day. “That’s probably one of the last things you worry about with a guy like that.”
After three or four workouts in a day, Eye G would notice Kuminga putting up shots at the court in their backyard.
“He’s just hungry, man,” Eye G said. “He’s hungry to take things to another level. They’re athletes, they get doubted, but that (expletive) fuels him so much. And this kid, this isn’t the first time he’s heard doubting.”
The Warriors need Kuminga’s offseason work to pay off. Bereft of a consistent 20-point scorer outside of Curry, Kuminga has the chance to elevate into a featured role after taking a leap in his third season.
But even if last year was a major step in his development, it was uneven. He excelled when Andrew Wiggins was absent, but fell in the pecking order when Wiggins returned. After sitting for the final 18 minutes of a loss to Denver, someone in his camp told The Athletic that he’d “lost faith” in head coach Steve Kerr.
The start of Kuminga’s career has been atypical for a lottery pick. He joined a contender, then played a minor role for a declining veteran team as his 2021 draft-classmates — Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Franz Wagner — got the keys to their respective franchises.
They’ve gotten paid. Kuminga, who’s eligible for an extension until Oct. 21, may not until next summer.
Whatever happens, Eye G will be right there with him.
“The journey hasn’t been easy,” Kuminga said. “And he’s been a part of that journey. Nothing has ever been easy or handed to us. Fight through every battle, and that’s what we’ve been through. And we haven’t stopped, we just keep fighting through anything – not just basketball, anything in life.”
