Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jonathan Kuminga has delivered a blunt response to a fan who shouted a vulgar nickname at him in a circulating video clip. When the fan called out "Kumbucket," a phrase that plays on Kuminga's surname and an explicit sexual expression, the player replied: "Whoever said that, I'mma come find you & slap you."
The nickname carries a double meaning because "bucket" also refers to a made basket in basketball slang. Despite that secondary reading, the combined phrase is widely recognised online as crude. Kuminga did not use profanity or escalate further, going straight to what he said he would do if the person stood in front of him.
Kuminga is unlikely to encounter the fan face to face given the security around an NBA player, but his response made clear how he felt about being addressed that way in public. Minnesota's next scheduled preseason game is against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center on Saturday, October 10, at 8 p.m. ET.
