Cousins clipped from All-NBA first team; did voters get it right?
DeMarcus Cousins joined rare Kings company when he was named second-team All-NBA for the second consecutive season. But should he have garnered more respect? He lost out on the first team to Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.
Cousins was fourth in the NBA in scoring and fifth in rebounding while adding a dimension that Jordan does not possess: three-point shooting.
There’s no questioning Jordan’s dominance on defense; he ranked second in the league in rebounding and blocks per game and was named to the All-Defensive first team for the second consecutive season. And though he’s not the scoring threat of Cousins, he’s efficient, leading the NBA in field-goal percentage.
Here’s how they compared in the regular season:
Stat | Cousins | Jordan |
All-NBA voting (first-, second-, third-team votes) | 277 points (32-28-33) | 317 points (39-36-14) |
Points | 26.9 | 12.7 |
Shooting pct. (three-point) | 45.1 (33.3) | 70.3 (0.00) |
Field goals made-att. (three) | 601-1,332 (70-210) | 357-503 (0-1) |
Rebounds | 11.5 | 13.8 |
Assists | 3.3 | 1.2 |
Blocks | 1.4 | 2.3 |
Steals | 1.6 | 0.7 |
Team’s record | 33-49 | 53-29 |
Games played | 65 | 77 |
Technical fouls | 17 | 12 |
Ejections | 1 | 1 |
Turnovers | 3.8 | 1.2 |
2016 salary | $15,851,950 | $19,689,000 |
Sources: NBA.com, ESPN.com
Compiled by Jon Schultz
This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Cousins clipped from All-NBA first team; did voters get it right?."