Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The season is over for Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins.
The NBA announced Monday that it upheld his 16th technical foul of the season. Players and coaches are suspended one game without pay when they reach 16 technical fouls.
Cousins will sit out Wednesday's season finale against Phoenix. He had needed the NBA to rescind a technical foul in each of the previous two seasons to avoid the automatic suspension.
The incident is his latest suspension in a young career already full of them.
In February, the league suspended Cousins for one game and fined him $20,000 for punching Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley in the stomach and verbally abusing an official. He also drew three suspensions last season, including one by the Kings for "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team" after he shouted at then-coach Keith Smart in the locker room during halftime of a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers.
Cousins has repeatedly said he's trying to correct his behavior, though it hasn't always played out that way on the court. He was called for his 16th technical foul this season in Sacramento's 106-103 win over Minnesota on Sunday night after waving his arm at an official.
Cousins, who signed a four-year, $62 million contract extension with the Kings before the season, declined to answer questions about the call after the game. The technical was Cousins' first since Feb. 25 and ended the longest stretch of his career without one.
Cousins ends his fourth season in the NBA averaging career highs of 22.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He also shot a career-best 49.6 percent.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
