It was shades of the old Boogie. Heat of the moment, the whistle didn’t go his way and DeMarcus Cousins proceeded to dropkick a stack of towels on his way to the bench late in the second quarter of Denver’s Game 4 win over Golden State on Sunday. The act, a rarity for Cousins these days, earned him a $15,000 fine.
That was Sacramento’s Cousins. Maybe New Orleans’s Cousins. Nowadays there is still the occasional blowup—an argument with teammate Will Barton during Game 2 quickly went viral—but Cousins claims to have mellowed in recent years. Having the game nearly taken from you will do that. Four years ago Cousins was at the peak of his powers, an All-Star with the Pelicans, a towering teammate of Anthony Davis on track to earn a max contract with New Orleans. Then he tore his Achilles tendon. A year later it was his quad. Then his left ACL came apart. The money disappeared. Interest from teams dried up. A player once considered one of the NBA’s best centers struggled to earn 10-day contracts.
“It's crazy, you do so much and then leave,” Cousins told SI. “You've proven yourself year after year, and once you hit the end of that adversity, they just kind of give up on you. You know, I look at some of my other peers, and they went through similar situations and they can bounce back and still get the same opportunities. I mean, I would be lying to say it doesn't suck, but these are the cards I've been dealt, and all I can do is deal with it to the best of my ability.”
Cousins’s journey has been a long one over the past four seasons. He went from Golden State to Los Angeles. Then to Houston. Then back to LA. Then Milwaukee. Bucks GM Jon Horst praised Cousins for his work earlier this season. Then waived him in favor of an open roster spot.
Cousins admits: He thought about quitting. “A lot of doors closed,” Cousins says. Houston, where Cousins played 25 games in 2020-21, was rock bottom. “It was horrible,” Cousins said. “A lot of teams promise you one thing, will tell you something in your face, and when the time comes around, no phone calls, they go silent. They tell you one thing and then tell your agent another. It's just a lot of bulls---. There's a lot of bulls--- in this business, and in my eyes, a lot of it's unfair. But it is what it is.”
So what kept Cousins going?
“Since I've been a young kid I feel like I've faced and dealt with a lot of obstacles,” Cousins says. “It's never been an easy path. I've always had to go over extreme hurdles to the next step. So when it comes to dealing with adversity, I approach it head-on. I've done it so many times, I feel like I can overcome anything. It's kind of my mindset.
“I've also watched my biggest role model, my mom. I watched my mom work two jobs and raise six kids on her own. It's like, how the f--- can I complain about anything? I've had this woman working, busting her ass since I was young, just to present opportunities for me. On top of working two jobs and raising six kids, she still showed up to every basketball game; she still dropped me off at every party. Anything I needed, she made sure it was good. So how the f--- can I ever give up?”
His mom’s advice?
“Just keep going,” Cousins says. “I swear to God she told me these exact words: ‘I've never met a person like you. No matter what happens to you, no matter how many times you fall, you just continue to get up.’ And s---, honestly it brought tears to my eyes to hear my mom even say it. Obviously, when you're in it, you don't really focus in on what's happening. It's just a day at a time; each day you try to get better. These past four years, I've never just sat back and just looked at the situation. ‘Just keep going," she's telling me. ‘Just keep going.’ It's all I can do.”
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The Nuggets offered Cousins an opportunity in January, and it was a good one. In Denver, Cousins would back up Nikola Jokić. But he would also be reunited with Michael Malone, his former coach in Sacramento. Malone and Cousins enjoyed a successful working relationship with the Kings, one Cousins was eager to rekindle.
“It's more of a respect thing,” Cousins said. “I was Mike's first head coach job, so he knew me when I was a kid. He knew my heart, he knows my intentions, he knows how to approach his game every night. And the biggest thing is he not only believed in my talents, but gave the opportunity to know me as a man, as a person. It wasn't the reputation, it wasn't what the next person said or the next person's experience. He got to know me for himself, and vice versa. And it's been love ever since. With him just knowing that about me, I think it was an easy decision. Obviously, it's been working in my favor.”
Cousins signed a 10-day contract with Denver in January. Then another. And another. After the All-Star break, Denver signed Cousins for the rest of the season. Playing behind Jokić, Cousins averaged nine points and nearly six rebounds during the regular season. He’s put up similar numbers in the playoffs. He scored eight points in a March win over Philadelphia, playing deep into the fourth quarter. He scored 14 points in 15 minutes in an April win over the Lakers. He racked up 10 points in 10 minutes in Denver’s season-saving win over Golden State. He admits frustration having to watch crunch time minutes from the bench but says, “I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
So is Denver. “What I love about Cousins is he is so invested,” Malone said. “The one thing I used to tell people about DeMarcus when I coached him in Sacramento, I never had to worry about if DeMarcus was going to show up and play. I never had to worry if he was going to compete. That guy loves to play, he hates to lose, and he competes. I’ll deal with all the other stuff. If you have a guy that’s going to fight, and compete, and get on his teammates, and help guys out, he’s been phenomenal. He’s helped everybody in the locker room, not just in productivity on the court, but in the locker room, off the court. He’s made a huge impact on our team.”
Cousins will be a free agent again this summer. He says he has enjoyed his time in Denver and would like to come back. But he admits he still pines for a bigger role. He hopes his stint in Denver has shown the league that, at 31, he still has a lot left.
“I feel great,” Cousins says. “I know I'm healthy again, I know my body can hold up to everything I'm trying to do out there to play at a high level. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and I appreciate Mike giving me a chance, believing in my talents. We'll see what happens.”
