During the 2010s, there was a rising concern that the Center position in the NBA would lose meaning. However, in the past few years, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid have quashed these fears. Both won MVP awards, while Embiid has been the leading scorer in the regular season for the past three years. Crediting his former teammate, Isaiah Thomas stated that DeMarcus Cousins paved the way for talents like Jokic and Embiid to take over the league.
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The former Kings guard appeared on the ‘Bully Ball’ podcast with Cousins and they displayed mutual admiration. Cousins told IT he doesn’t get enough credit for becoming a two-time All-Star despite being 5’9”.
Since the 35-year-old has resiliently tried getting a place in an NBA roster, Cousins hailed his “perseverance” and “grit” that has been an inspiration for numerous athletes,
“You’re an inspiration to so many people around the world. I mean heart over height, all of those things. Just to continue to fight the fight when it could have been so easy to hang it up, call it quits or take your talents elsewhere.”
In reply, Thomas also alluded to Cousins’ remarkable influence on the game. For the 2x All-Star, his guard-adjacent game style at the Center position set the tone for young players to thrive in the NBA,
“I am always going to first and foremost give you your flowers on that because we wouldn’t see the Embiids, we wouldn’t see the Jokers if it wasn’t for DeMarcus Cousins being able to lay the ground for those guys to be able to do things at a high level.”
Boogie has indeed been an inspiration for the modern Centers. He had a well-rounded low-post and high-post game while also delivering consistently on the rebounding end. Therefore, he enjoyed a decorated NBA career for many years.
DeMarcus Cousins had a remarkable NBA career
The former Kings big man put up 22+ points and 10+ rebounds, per game, for six straight seasons. The 6’10” Center made it to four straight NBA All-Star games from 2015 to 2018. Besides his incredible numbers, Cousins also proved his worth as a playmaker and stacked up 2.9 or more assists per game during seven straight seasons.
He was a nightmare to guard because of his size and nimble feet. He could act as a spot-up shooter while playing bully ball underneath the rim. Apart from these factors, he was always in the mix for offensive rebounds and supplied a ton of second-chance points to his teams. Later in his career, he also added three-point shots to his arsenal, making him a well-rounded threat.
His ability to bring the ball up the floor and make tough passes from multiple post positions also bothered defenses. Joel Embiid’s playing style resembles Cousins’ skillset in a myriad of ways because of which Thomas brought out this comparison.
