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Cousins reveals how García shifted his initial perspective on Kings
Cousins reveals how García shifted his initial perspective on Kings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
DeMarcus Cousins‘ relationship with the Kings has taken its twists and turns to say the least.
Cousins, who was selected No. 5 overall by Sacramento in the 2010 NBA Draft, reflected on his rocky partnership with the organization during and after his six-and-a-half years in the 916.
The four-time NBA All-Star appeared on a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show” where he recalled a conversation with former Kings wing Francisco García that shifted his perception of the Kings organization early in his career.
“It was tough and it was confusing,” Cousins said. “It was even worse for me because I was coming from a situation at Kentucky where [Coach Jon Calipari] treated us like pros. He was preparing us for that next level. I’ll never forget this, shoutout to my vet Francisco Garcia. Cisco was my vet. But I remember in my rookie season, it was something simple. I don’t even remember what the task was, but at Kentucky, I never did anything like that [and] then I came to the Kings and in my mind, it’s like, this is a step higher even more.
“This is the elite level of basketball, so my expectations were off, to say the least. It was a simple task and I remember Cisco saying something like, ‘Yo, you really was spoiled at Kentucky.’ And in my head, I’m like, ‘Damn, maybe I was.’ But at the same time, I’m like, ‘This is an even more elite level so why is it being looked at as me being spoiled?’
“So long story short, Cisco ended up eventually getting traded to the Houston Rockets. And I remember when he went there he ended up tapping in with me a little later. And he was like, ‘Man I remember that day I called you spoiled.’ He was like, ‘I was wrong. We were in the s–thole.’ I’m like I knew I wasn’t tripping.”
After shining at Kentucky, Cousins entered the NBA and joined a team that had just finished 14th in the Western Conference with a 25-57 record.
During his rookie season, Cousins averaged 14.1 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds, but the Kings (14-58) again finished 14th in the West. Sacramento didn’t win more than 29 games during Cousins’ tenure until the 2015-16 season (33-49, 10th in the West) and the following 2016-17 campaign (32-50), which is the season he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans.
In 470 games across nearly seven seasons, Cousins averaged 21.1 points on 45.9 percent shooting, with 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks while earning First Team All-Rookie honors and two Second Team All-NBA honors.
While Cousins unquestionably cemented his greatness in Sacramento, he admitted it was difficult to navigate through all the changes the organization was going through while it aimed to climb out of the bottom of the conference.
“I’m not here to s–t on the Kings or anything,” Cousins added. “In sports, you have up and down years. I just so happened to come in at a point where it was dying and the organization was figuring itself out. It was in its transition period. The owners that drafted me were ready to move on and sell the team. So it’s a lot of things I got caught up in that were out of my control. The average fan or whatever doesn’t quite understand that part of the business or the game. So it’s easy to look at my situation and point the finger. And to be honest, a lot of it was my fault. I did do a lot of bonehead s–t. A lot of stupid s–t. But that’s part of growing up and becoming a man. You bump your head a few times. But it was hard. It was hard figuring it out.
“A new system every single year, that’s tough to do. Each coach has a different system. Each coach thinks differently. So just trying to find success with a new system every single year, that’s really hard to do. And then on top of it, people think players create a vibe, which they do. But an organization being good starts at the top. That’s with any type of organization. It starts at the top. So it just wasn’t right. Things weren’t aligning correctly. And the Kings weren’t ready to flourish yet. I ended up going through two ownership groups, I had three GMs and I was there six and a half years and had six coaches. Like I said, it was tough to navigate. But at the end of the day when it came to competing, that was my foundation.
“I had my own personal goals which was to try to be the best player I could be, regardless of my situation, and find a way to shine. That was just my mindset maneuvering through that.”
It took 16 seasons, but the Kings finally snapped their notorious playoff drought and are trending upward to sustained NBA success. That newfound success is “dope” to Cousins, as he revealed in an interview last year, and regardless of all the past tension between him and the organization, Cousins is happy for the “incredible” fans and the City of Sacramento.
