DeMarcus Cousins
There’s no question that Sacramento Kings power forward DeMarcus Cousins is one of the most talented players at his position in the NBA. After one year at the University of Kentucky, Cousins left school and was drafted fifth overall by the Kings with the fifth overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft. In his first season with the Kings, Cousins averaged 14.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game as he was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team. Cousins’ numbers have basically improved each year in the NBA. Last season Cousins averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds which were numbers that were worthy of him being selected as an NBA All-Star, but he plays in the Western Conference which is littered with quality big men and thus he was snubbed. But this season Cousins is third in the NBA in scoring (24.2) and third in rebounding (12.4) as he is making a strong case to be in New York City next month as a participant in the NBA All-Star Game.
The Kings are currently on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the Western Conference as they are 5.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns for the final postseason spot, but it isn’t for a lack of effort by Cousins. This season Cousins has 23 double-doubles in points and rebounds as he has been a one man wrecking crew. In the Kings third game of the season Cousins went for 34 points and 17 rebounds in Sacramento’s 98-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and power forward Blake Griffin. On November 18, Cousins tallied 24 points and 17 rebounds in the Kings 106-100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Cousins put these numbers up against another former Kentucky player in Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis. Beginning in late November, Cousins would miss 10 games as the result of a virus. But Cousins would return to the Kings lineup on December 18 and he picked up right where he left off at by scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 boards in the Kings 108-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The New York Knicks lack a dominant power forward and Cousins took advantage of this on December 27 by torching them for 39 points and 11 rebounds in just 32 minutes of game action as he was plagued by foul trouble. Cousins has carried this effort over to the new year as for the month of January he is averaging 25 points and 13.2 rebounds per contest. In the Kings last game Cousins poured in 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists, but Sacramento fell short of beating the Dallas Mavericks as they lost 108-104.
This is Cousins’ fourth year in the NBA, yet he is only 24-years of age. In the past a lack of maturity was the biggest thing that held Cousins back as he clashed with his head coaches; even going back to his days in college at Kentucky under head basketball coach John Calipari. Cousins also had his fair share of run-ins with opponents on the court as well. But the only hiccup that Cousins has had this season was when he was ejected on New Year’s Eve during the Kings 106-84 loss to the Boston Celtics after he had a skirmish with Celtics rookie point guard Marcus Smart. But unlike in the past, Cousins acknowledged his mistake for the altercation while also seeing the need for himself to be a better leader. It also has helped Cousins that former 15-time NBA All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal is now a minority owner with the Kings. Aside from working with Cousins on the court, O’Neal has mentored the youngster off of the court as the future Basketball Hall of Famer sees himself in the Kings power forward.
The Kings did lock up Cousins to a long-term extension last summer as they see him as a building block and at least for this season he deserves to be among the 12 best players representing the Western Conference next month at the NBA All-Star Game. If the NBA All-Star Game is truly about having the best players there and not merely being a glorified popularity contest then you cannot have the game without Cousins who has more than proven that he can bang in the low-post with the best power forwards that the Western Conference has to offer.
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