“I earned my stripes” – DeMarcus Cousins claims he deserves same legendary status as Chris Webber, Oscar Robertson in Kings history

DeMarcus Cousins had arguably the best years of his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings. Cousins, in fact, firmly believes that he deserves to have the highest honor bestowed by the franchise.

The four-time NBA All-Star made this point clear when he appeared on this past Thursday’s episode of “Straight Game Podcast,” which is hosted by former Sacramento star Mike Bibby. During his appearance on this podcast, Cousins talked about the possibility of his jersey being retired by the Kings.

“Obviously it would be an honor. That was something that I definitely wanted and strived for as far as why I tried to go out and perform every single night,” Cousins said. “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.”

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Though Cousins acknowledged that there are factors beyond his control, he doubled down on his assertion that he is deserving of a jersey retirement.

"Obviously, it's like you [Bibby] said, it's a political thing. 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 added.

In all likelihood, the "others" that Cousins is referring to are stars like Chris Webber and Oscar Robertson, whose jerseys have been retired by the Kings franchise.

Though Cousins earned three All-Star nods in Sacramento, it's worth noting that he never made the playoffs during his stint with the team. Still, as he told Bibby in his recent podcast appearance, he is convinced that his jersey should go up into the rafters.

"You’ll just buy more horses with $300 million": DeMarcus Cousins tells story about 3x MVP almost walking away from NBA

In the same episode of "Straight Game Podcast," Cousins told a story about convincing three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to keep playing in the NBA.

"He told me: ‘Cuz, I might retire before that contract.’ I said: ‘You’re going to leave $300 million on the table? Are you crazy?" Cousins recalled.

Cousins added that Jokic brought up his beloved horses, which led the former Kings center to give a counterargument.

"I told him: ‘Joke, those horses will be there. You’ll just buy more horses with $300 million,'" Cousins said.

It would appear, then, that Cousins played an integral role in the Nuggets's 2023 title conquest as Jokic ultimately stayed in Denver and led the team to the summit.

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About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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