Sportsmanship is a premium value promoted in any sports league like the NBA, where players shake hands and acknowledge each other’s efforts after 48 minutes of competition. However, some NBA players fail to live up to this ideal as exhibited by the recent incident figuring LA Clippers superstar Chris Paul and DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas of the Sacramento Kings.
Following the Clippers’ 103-102 win over the Kings on Saturday night, Cousins prevented his teammate Thomas from shaking hands with Paul by grabbing him by the jersey. Cousins had just missed a mid-range jumper in the final seconds, and the seemingly upset Kings center pulled Thomas, who was being approached by Paul for a handshake, towards the Kings locker room.
“He’s young, man,” Paul said about Cousins as reported by SI.com. “He don’t know no better. He needs some guidance. It is what it is.”
Paul appeared to acknowledge the good game of Thomas, the Sacramento sixth man who came off the bench to score 22 points and dish out five assists in 33 minutes of play. Instead, his handshake was snubbed due to Cousins’ interference.
Cousins is no stranger to incidents like this. He once had a postgame incident with Spurs broadcaster Sean Elliott that led to a two game suspension; he also had brushes with OJ Mayo and Vince Carter of the Dallas Mavericks and suspended for a game by his team for unprofessional behavior. He received a massive contract extension this summer despite some apprehension about his attitude.
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