Getty DeMarcus Cousins #15 formerly of the Sacramento Kings reacts after teammates Rajon Rondo #9 made a three-point basket against the Los Angeles Lakers at Sleep Train Arena on October 30, 2015.
As former Los Angeles Lakers big man DeMarcus Cousins officially ended his NBA comeback bid, he reflected on his 12-year run.
When asked who was the hardest player he’s guarded in the NBA, he pointed to Lakers star and his former New Orleans Pelicans frontcourt partner Anthony Davis.
“I came in the era where, when I entered, it was still two bigs in the post type, you know? So, like I said, I’m right on the cusp of the old-school ball to the new-school ball. I’ve kind of seen both sides of it, and man, there are so many talented guys,” Cousins told Hoopshype’s Cyro Asseo de Choch on February 23.
I mean, there are more guys that don’t even get the recognition. Now, [Al] Jefferson, Chris Kaman, and Marc Gasol, players of that nature, didn’t have the opportunity to play against guys like Zion [Williamson] and things like that. But I would say, for me, Anthony Davis has always been a guy that I’ve been a huge fan of, you know, his younger days in New Orleans, and we had a lot of battles.
Anthony Davis is a guy that doesn’t always get respect from [the] media.”
Healthy Anthony Davis
Davis, 30, is on his healthiest run with the Lakers. He is on pace to play the most games he’s had in a single season since joining the Lakers in 2019.
Davis is averaging 25.0 points, 12.2 rebounds and a career-best 3.7 assists with 1.1 steals and 2.4 blocks through his 54 games this season entering their February 25 marquee matchup against the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers big man appeared in 56 games last season and 62 in his first run with the Lakers in the 2019-20 season.
Cousins and Davis teamed up in New Orleans after Cousins’ seven-year run with the Sacramento Kings ended in a midseason trade in 2017. However, their partnership was short-lived as Cousins tore his left Achilles which signaled the decline of his NBA career.
Cousins would later join Davis at Los Angeles in the 2019-20 season but an ACL tear in an offseason pickup game kept him out for the season. He never played for the Lakers, who won the NBA championship in the bubble at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
LeBron James Raves About Victor Wembanyama’s Future
French rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama might have a case to change Cousins’ choice had he played against him.
Even Lakers superstar LeBron James, who is in the conversation of the greatest of all time debate with Michael Jordan, was in awe of Wembanyama.
“That kid is SPECIAL,” James posted on X, formerly Twitter, following their second matchup of the season.
That kid is SPECIAL!! 👽
“He doesn’t have a ceiling, he can do whatever he wants to do with his career,” James told reporters after Wembanyama’s historic game. “He seems like he enjoys the game and seems like he puts the work [in], just from the outside looking in. Obviously, I’m not with him on a day-to-day basis. But I said it a long time ago how special he was, and it’s literally that simple.”
The 20-year-old Wembanyama became the youngest player in NBA history to record at least five points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals in one game. He finished with the historic 5×5 line with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks, and five steals.
Victor Wembanyama is the YOUNGEST player in NBA history to record a 5×5 (PTS-REB-AST-STL-BLK) game 📊
27 PTS
10 REB
8 AST
5 BLK
5 STL
Wembanyama completed this 5×5 game in 30 minutes and 55 seconds, the fewest minutes ever played in such a game 🤯
The 39-year-old James, however, came out on top of the duel of the greatest No.1 picks, as he led the Lakers to a game-high 30 points and nine assists for a 123-118 victory against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, February 23.
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DeMarcus Cousins Names Lakers Star Hardest Player to Guard in His Career