DeMarcus Cousins hasn't played for the Sacramento Kings in over seven years, but the former All-Star still believes he left a legacy worth honoring. In a recent interview, Cousins made his case for having his jersey retired by the franchise, pointing to his accolades and impact during one of the darkest eras in Kings history.
"That was something that I definitely wanted and strived for as far as why I tried to go out and perform every single night. Accolade-wise, I feel like I did all the right things while I was in that jersey," said Cousins. "As far as All-Stars, as far as All-NBA selections, numbers, gold medals. I put my work in. I think I earned my stripes."
The Kings have retired 11 jersey numbers to honor legends like Nate Archibald (No. 1), Chris Webber (No. 4), Vlade Divac (No. 21), and Mitch Richmond (No. 2), among others. As it stands now, Cousins (No. 15) has yet to join that elite company, but he believes he's done enough to earn the recognition.
"Obviously, it's a political thing," said Cousins. "But as far as the work being done, I think I did what needed to be done to join the others up in the rafters."
Cousins is out of his dang mind. He didn't do enough to get his jersey retired. They never even made the playoffs. They never played .500 ball.
1st year = 24 wins 58 losses
2nd = 22 wins 60 losses
3rd = 28 wins 54 losses
4th = 28 wins 54 losses
5th = 29 wins 53 losses
6th year = 33 wins 49 losses
Traded midway through 7th year. Team finished with 32 wins 50 losses. SAC were 23 wins 32 losses when they traded him.
Never even close to making the playoffs.
Total = 187 wins 360 losses. So they won 1 out of every 3 games while Cousins was there.
It is very difficult to get your jersey retired for only 6 years work with your team. It is even more difficult when you have had any team success in those 6 years. And even in terms of individual success, Cousins was mostly an empty-stat player at the start of his career. I forget when he began to outgrow. Probably 2-3 years into his career. So only 3-4 years of high quality basketball with no team success to speak of. That doesn't get your jersey retired.
Some of these guys have no clue.
I think you're right about the number retirement. I don't blame him for the lack of winning, though. Sacramento routinely outscored opponents when he was in the game, but as soon as he sat the team fell apart.
Topic: Offseason Thread (Read 654880 times)