DeMarcus Cousins Gives Decisive Verdict on Sacramento Kings Retiring His Jersey

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Jan 29, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Former Sacramento Kings’ star DeMarcus Cousins recently appeared on FanDuel’s Run It Back show where he gave a decisive answer regarding the Kings possibly retiring his number 15 jersey somewhere down the road.

Of course, Cousins was dominant in seven seasons with the Kings. He averaged 21.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field and 32.2% from three.

While his numbers with the Kings were great and good enough for them to retire his jersey, Sacramento did not do much winning during Cousin’s time with them. In his seven seasons with the franchise, the Kings never finished the season with a winning record and won more than 30 games just twice with him on the roster.

Cousin’s exit was also not a good one for the Kings, which left the franchise and their fans unhappy with the four-time All-Star. Sacramento traded Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2016-17 season, ending his time with the franchise. Later down the road, Cousins then said that he regretted staying with the Kings for as long as he did.

Because of this, Cousins does not believe that the Kings will ever retire his jersey.

"I doubt that ever happens. I would be honored if it did, but I don't see that happening. I think most of the fans there got brainwashed by radio personalities."@BoogieCousins doesn't believe the Sacramento Kings will retire his jersey like the Nets & Raptors did Vince Carter's pic.twitter.com/0QVOCmYuwZ
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 28, 2025

"I doubt that ever happens,” Cousins said. “I would be honored if it did, but I don't see that happening. I think most of the fans there got brainwashed by radio personalities."

While Cousins has repeatedly said that he would be honored to have his jersey retired by the franchise, the likelihood of it happening is close to none. It has been three seasons since Cousins retired from the NBA, and the Kings have not discussed a possible jersey retirement ceremony.

There is no doubt that Cousins deserves to see his jersey hanging in the rafters at the Golden 1 Center, but due to the franchise’s lack of success with him on the roster and the terrible breakup between the two sides, it is likely that Sacramento will never honor one of the best players in the franchise’s history.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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