Right now, there are a lot of good players in the NBA from numerous countries across 30 different teams. The one thing that they all have in common is that they don't want to be just good. They want to be great.
Greatness is difficult to achieve for most. But for those with the ability to do so, there is nothing more frustrating than watching it go to waste. Sacramento Kings centers DeMarcus Cousins is one player who NBA observers think is wasting his potential.
"He had a good FIBA World Championship, but to me, DeMarcus Cousins could be a superstar in the NBA," ESPN's Chad Ford wrote. "Coach [George] Karl talked in our last installment about bigs being overrated, and I agree. But I think Cousins is so talented that if, mentally, he was in the right place, if he put in the effort and had the work ethic and had the understanding of the game, he could be one of the top four or five players in the NBA. I just think the talent is enormous. He still puts up pretty decent numbers regardless, but if the maturity ever got there, if the work ethic ever got there for Cousins, he could be a monster in the NBA."
Cousins has averaged 17.9 points per game and 10.2 rebounds since being drafted in 2010. Last year, however, he set career highs in several categories including points (22.7), rebounds (11.7), assists (2.9), blocks (1.3), steals (1.5) and field goal percentage (49%). Despite Cousins' prodigious individual talent, the Kings have never found success with him. The team has a winning percentage of just .327 over the last four seasons.
"However, we knew this coming out of college and we even knew this coming out of high school - that he's had issues," Ford wrote. "There's been some evidence that perhaps he's improved his maturity, and I know Team USA felt better about him this year than it had in years past, but there's still a way to go. It's just tough to see that much talent out on the court and not see it live up to its full potential. In real plus-minus he ranked 89th in the league last season. I don't think there's any reason he couldn't rank in the top five."
Cousins needs to sustain his success and contribute to the team's victories over the course of an entire season to start changing the negative perceptions about him. He has all the talent to be a perennial All-Star. We just don't know if he has the maturity or the commitment.
The Kings are off to a good 3-1 start this year with Cousins averaging 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.