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Two Kings Featured in SI’s Top 100

After career years for both Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings stars received some recognition from Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver and Rob Mahoney, ranking them amongst the top 100 players in the NBA.

The annual rankings are generated through a “fluid combination of subjective assessment and objective data, including per-game statistics and advanced measures like Player Efficiency Rating, Win Shares, Real Plus-Minus, WARP, Net Rating and Synergy Sports data,” according to Golliver and Mahoney

After the full list was revealed this week, Gay landed at 52 with Cousins at 14.

Gay, who improved from his ranking at 67 in 2014, enjoyed a fruitful campaign in his first full season with the Kings and finished with career high averages in points (21.1) and assists (3.7) per contest.

Mahoney called Gay’s last season “a productive, efficient, and unselfish campaign as one of Sacramento’s usage leaders.” Also stating that, “Gay hasn’t transformed his game so much as seen it through to maturity.”

As for Boogie, his ranking at 14 reflected a significant jump from the 27 spot he held last year. A jump that was well deserved as he earned his first career All-Star selection while finishing with career high averages across the board in points (24.1), rebounds (12.7), assists (3.6) and blocks (1.7) per game.

“It’s evident, by now, that Cousins is an absolute load offensively, the rare center who can overpower his defender at the rim, hit a soft jumper from the elbow, blow by a close-out defender off the bounce, and initiate a fast break with his own dribbling,” said Golliver in Cousins’ evaluation.

Golliver went on to praise DMC’s defensive improvements, as well.

“The same athletic tools that make him a tough cover allow Cousins to be a versatile defender: he has the requisite size and strength to patrol the basket area and clear the defensive glass, he has the quickness and special awareness to track out to the perimeter without getting antsy, and he has the footwork to stay with players of all sizes as they attack out of pick-and-rolls or turn the corner into the paint,” Golliver wrote.

To view the full rankings and read the full evaluations for each player, click here.


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