Sacramento Kings: Was DeMarcus Cousins Really Snubbed From The All-Star Team?

Jan 19, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Sacramento Kings center

(15) holds the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder center

(5) defends during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

DeMarcus Cousins has undoubtedly played at an All-Star level this season, with averages of 22 points, 11 rebounds, one block and two steals a game. Another great thing about Cousins’ game this year is that in each statistical category that I listed, DeMarcus is leading his team. \n
DeMarcus, who signed a four-year, $62 million contract this offseason, has shown that he is ready to take over this franchise and elevate his game to the next level. With all the success that Cousins has been able to produce this season, was he snubbed from the All-Star Game?

First off, let’s note that there is still a possibility that DeMarcus can make the All-Star team, as new commissioner Adam Silver will have to find a replacement player to take the spot of the injured Kobe Bryant.  For the sake of this piece, however, let us just look at the team the way it is and DeMarcus Cousins will not be on the 2014 All-Star team.  Like stated early, Cousins has definitely played at an All-Star level this season, but to be an All-Star in this league–especially in the stacked Western Conference–is one of the toughest things to do.

DeMarcus has to go up with likes of players like Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwight Howard and more to be named an All-Star. Another obstacle DeMarcus has to overcome is the fact that his Kings team is not winning games. The Sacramento Kings are actually last in the West and a big difference with the players that are named as All-Stars is that most of their teams are winning.

It is also not the first time the league did not vote a player, who is basically on a breakout season, as an All-Star just because of what he has done that year. Just look back to last year when the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry was finally putting an entire season together and really had a breakout year. Curry had to show that his ankles–which had gotten the label as tissue paper–were not going to be an issue. DeMarcus Cousins is somewhat in that same boat as Curry was last year.

DeMarcus Cousins has been labeled as a head case, immature, unpredictable. Even when you ask analysts or avid spectators of the game, they always seem to sum up Cousins the same way: “He has all the talent to be great, but he needs to mature.” Cousins is showing this season that he is starting to become a player for which maturity is not an issue.  He has been given the keys to this revamped Kings franchise and is showing that he can be the leader of this team moving forward. Like Curry, Cousins is proving that his one major flaw will not hold him back as player anymore.

To answer the original question, was DeMarcus Cousins snubbed from the All-Star Game? The answer is no. The Kings are not winning and the league tends to reward winning teams. Also, Cousins, of course, has the talent–everyone has knows that–but proving over an entire season that his immaturity is getting left in the rear-view mirror is what he needs to do to show the league that he is the All-Star player his talent has always said he could be.