DeMarcus Cousins (AP Photo)
NEW DELHI: In the early 2010s, if you were a 6-foot-10 power player with the ball-handling skills of a point guard and the shooting range of a sharpshooter, you weren’t called a “unicorn,” you were called a problem.
Before the era of positionless basketball became the golden rule in the NBA, DeMarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins was a disruptor, a big man who refused to be limited by the low block.On the sidelines of the second edition of the BUDX NBA House event at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the four-time Olympic gold medalist spoke to TimesofIndia.com about his storied journey, the evolution of the ‘big man’ archetype, and a message for India’s thriving hoops culture.
He watches
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“Big” development
For years, critics have pushed Cousins to stay near the rim, near the basket rather than handle the ball, shoot from distance, or create plays like guards. Today, however, the league is dominated by multi-talented giants like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, two players walking the path that Cousins helped pave. However, it misrepresents the title of the pioneer.“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m the pioneer, because there are a lot of players before me who had a lot of variety in their game.
I think of guys like Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barclays, Derek Colemans, Tim Duncan… Kevin Garnett,” Cousins told this site.“But what’s even cooler is seeing the skill set being embraced in the big guy. To call myself a pioneer, I think that’s a bit of a stretch, because the guys I looked up to before me were the ones who helped design my game.”He points out that the basketball world has finally caught up to his style of play.
“I enjoy seeing the big players being able to show off their full arsenal and skill set. It shows the evolution of the game. I would say it’s being embraced more now than it was before. It was seen as taboo at the time. I remember when you were a kid, if you were over six or five, you would automatically be thrown into the position, and they would try to teach you how to do a jump hook.”
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Mental warfare is a physical battle
The cousins’ journey was not without its dark corridors. After suffering a career-altering ruptured Achilles tendon, followed by an ACL injury, the struggle became somewhat existential.For a man whose identity was tied to physical dominance, the road back was a lesson in humility. “Finding that confidence in yourself. That belief, just confidence in your body, confidence in your movements,” he added.“People don’t understand the details and the work that it takes to come back from a torn Achilles. You have to learn how to walk again. You have to learn how to run again. To go out there and try to perform at a high level a year later…
It’s a really big adjustment physically, but even mentally. Getting that confidence back in your movement, your body… the mental part is probably the hardest part.”
Isiah Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins (3rd from right) address BUDX NBA House 2026 in Delhi (ANI Image)
“Know the business first.”
Cousins also bears the scars of the cold side of the NBA. In 2017, he was traded from Sacramento to New Orleans while still wearing his jersey during All-Star weekend. Hence, his advice to the next generation is rooted in pragmatism.“Just understanding the business early on,” he added with a smile.
“Get knowledge about the business before you get into it. Maybe that was a mistake on my part, and just to look for the next person, just understand what you’re getting yourself into.”But the business side is balanced by the purity of the craft, which he witnessed firsthand while playing for Team USA alongside legends like Kobe Bryant.“I played with some Hall of Fame talent, and they didn’t become Hall of Fame talent just by waking up and getting out of bed,” Cousins recalls.
“It’s a big behind-the-scenes process that a lot of people don’t get to see. I’ve seen with my own eyes how these great people became great. I just try to take what I’ve seen from them and apply it to myself.”As basketball fever sweeps the Indian capital this time around, Cousins has a definitive blueprint for the Indian kid who might be told he doesn’t have the typical build for the sport.“Well, you have to believe in yourself so that the next person will believe in you,” he emphasized. “If your confidence is built on what the next person says, you might as well be crumbled by what the next person says. So you have to start with self-confidence, belief in yourself, and then confidence also comes from the work you put into that craft. Let the work, let the repetition create your self-confidence. Create your own confidence, and everything else will follow.”
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