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DeMarcus Cousins – Sacramento Kings
Age: 26
2015-16 Per Game Averages: 26.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks.
Career Per Game Averages: 20.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.2 blocks.
Was it ever in doubt? DeMarcus Cousins is the best center in the NBA.
For all of the headlines, Cousins is easily the most talented big in the league. He has every talent you might want and he has the size to bully any other player. But, as a more conventional center, Boogie has two main strengths: scoring and rebounding.
In terms of scoring, well, Cousins was the fourth-highest scorer in the NBA, scoring an outstanding 26.9 points per game. He has a complete arsenal of moves in the post and can even boast considerable range, shooting .333 from the three-point line. Boogie’s immense strength also helps him to countless offensive rebounds and second chance points. If that wasn’t enough, he might be the most ferocious dunker at his position in the league. Cousins even passes really well, giving him easily the most complete and unstoppable offensive skillset of any on this list.
And with 11.5 rebounds per game last year, Boogie is one of the most irresistible centers on the glass. Very few players can contend with his size (6’11”, 270lb), so he easily boxes out for rebounds. We’ve even seen him taking on more than one of the opposition bigs.
On the defensive end, Cousins could be better. His 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks are perhaps a bit misleading. The hiring of Dave Joerger, though, withhis gritty Grizzlies pedigree should help Boogie improve. That is if you even care. I mean, the guy is the fourth best scorer in the league.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Kings general manager Vlade Divac said, via James Ham of CSN. “He’s the most dominant player in the whole world.”
Doubting that? Well, Boogie’s numbers did, in fact, prove to be “historically significant.”
According to Alec Nathan of Bleacher Report: “Cousins joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Bob McAdoo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bob Lanier, David Robinson and Chris Webber as the only players in league history to average at least 25 points, 11 rebounds, three dimes and a steal over the course of an entire campaign.”
That’s good company. And when you consider that he plays for such a mindless front office, it’s all the more impressive. Sure, Cousin’s sulking does not help him but his greatness is irrefutable.
As Rothstein said, when putting Cousins at the top of his own list: “The reason Boogie is first on this list is… because he’s the best offensive center in the game, an old-school bruiser who demands double teams with the ball in his hands in the high or low post. He’s an above average passer for a big man as well, and he just began to develop an above-the-break three as the trailer on fast breaks, which could be just plain unfair if he stays committed to it. The bottom line is, no one presents a matchup problem like Boogie right now, and at center that’s a pretty large advantage.”
Yeah, DeMarcus Cousins is pretty good. He is the fourth-best scorer in the entire league but the best center.