Sacramento Kings: 15 greatest scorers in franchise history

Back in 2010, the Kings selected DeMarcus Cousins out of the University of Kentucky, hoping to turn around the future of the franchise. As it turned out, Cousins was a great player, but not someone the franchise could figure out how to build around.

After numerous attempts at making it work, the franchise eventually moved on and traded the big man to the New Orleans Pelicans, but let’s focus on the seven seasons ‘Boogie’ spent in Sacramento.

As a rookie, Cousins showed some promise as a scoring option, averaging 14.1 points per game. He would hit marks of 18.1 and 17.1 points per game in the next two seasons before really breaking into his own during his fourth season with the club.

In the 2013-14 NBA season, he averaged 22.7 points per game and established himself as a star in the league. For the next three seasons, Cousins would average 24.1, 26.9, and 27.8 points per game with the Kings, respectively. During his seventh season was when he was traded, but he still averaged that 27.8 points per game in 55 games with the Kings.

Cousins’ points-per-game average of 21.1 is sixth in franchise history and his 9,894 points rank sixth all time as well. Perhaps his scoring came out of necessity because nobody else on the roster could carry the load?

Regardless, he knew how to score and he did it often. Cousins also has two 50-point games as a King with 55 against the Portland Trail Blazers and 56 against the Charlotte Hornets, both in 2016. Although troubled at points, Cousins was one of the best scorers the franchise ever had.