You'll never guess which All-Star drew up the best play according to Pop
One of the recent quirks of the All-Star Game is that the head coaches sometimes let the All-Stars draw up plays. Most players don't have much input on the sets they run on their respective teams -- unless they're LeBron James -- so the All-Star Game is their lone chance to atone for that in a loose, meaningless exhibition game.
The 2016 Western Conference All-Stars, who crushed the East, 196-173, are a cerebral bunch, so naturally West All-Star head coach Gregg Popovich was asked after the win about which of his players drew up the best play in a huddle.
The answer, to many people's surprise, was not the person you'd expect.
"DeMarcus Cousins," Popovich said. "We gave him the clipboard and he said get out of my way, go flat on the baseline and I'm shooting it, and he made the three. That might be the only one that worked all night long."
Here's the play Popovich was referencing:
Boogie showing the range! https://t.co/44Uoyx1SdS
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 15, 2016
Cousins isn't exactly known for making the smartest decisions on a basketball court, as he has notoriously been among the league leaders in technical fouls and feuded with several of his head coaches since entering the league in 2010.
With that said, Pop clearly had a joking undertone, and it's not as if Cousins drew up an intricate action -- he simply told his teammates to clear out and let him go to work (not unlike what happens sometimes in Sacramento). Cousins has expanded his range to 3-point territory this season -- making 1.2 per game and shooting 34.9 percent on 3s -- and calling his own number paid off on the biggest stage he's played on.
On paper, Cousins might've been the last West All-Star one would expect to design a successful play. But that's what makes him Boogie. He's talented enough to do what he wants, even if it's unconventional, and most of the time it works out.
Jovan Buha covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @jovanbuha.
