DeMarcus Cousins (AP Photo) NEW DELHI: In early 2010, if you were a 6-foot-10 powerhouse with the ball-handling skills of a quarterback and the range of a sniper, you weren’t called a “unicorn,” you were called a troublemaker. Before the era of positionless basketball became the golden rule of the NBA, DeMarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins was a disruptor, a big man who refused to be tied to the low block.On the sidelines of the second annual BUDX NBA House event at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the four-time NBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist spoke to TimesofIndia.com about his legendary journey, the evolution of the ‘Big Man’ archetype and his message for India’s flourishing hoops culture.
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The evolution of “big”
For years, critics urged Cousins to stay at the rim, close to the basket, instead of handling the ball, shooting from distance or making plays as a guard. Today, however, the league is dominated by all-around giants like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, players following the path Cousins helped pave. Still, he deflects the title of pioneer.“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a trailblazer because there were a lot of guys that came before me that had a lot of versatility in their game. I think of guys like Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkleys, Derrick Colemans, Tim Duncans … Kevin Garnett,” Cousins told the site.“But it’s a lot more cool to see the skill set incorporated into a big man. To call myself a trailblazer, I think that’s a bit of an overstatement because it was the guys that I looked up to before me that helped shape my game.”He notes that the basketball world has finally caught up to his style of play. “I enjoy seeing how the bigs can show their full arsenal and skills. It shows the evolution of the game. I’d say it’s more accepted now than it used to be. It used to be seen as taboo. I remember being a kid and when you were a little over six-five, you automatically got into a spot and they tried to teach you how to do it.”
Mental warfare physical battle
The journey of the cousins was not complete without dark corridors. After suffering a career-altering Achilles tear and subsequent ACL injury, the struggle became somewhat existential.For a man whose identity was tied to physical dominance, the journey back was a lesson in humility. “Finding that confidence in yourself. That belief, just trusting your body, trusting your movements,” he added.“People don’t understand the details and the work that goes into coming back from an Achilles tear. You have to learn to walk again. You have to learn to run again. To go out there and try to perform at a high level a year later … it’s a really, really big adjustment physically, but even more so mentally. To regain confidence in your movement, in your body … the mental part is probably the hardest part.”
Isiah Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins (third from right) headline BUDX NBA House 2026 in Delhi (ANI photo)
“Get to know the company first”
Cousins also bears the scars of the NBA’s cold side. In 2017, he was famously traded from Sacramento to New Orleans while still in his jersey during All-Star weekend. His advice for the next generation is thus rooted in pragmatism.“Just understand the business early,” he added with a smile. “Learn about the business before you go into it. That was probably my fault, and just to watch out for the next person, you just have to understand what you’re getting into.”But the business side is balanced by the purity of craftsmanship, which he witnessed firsthand when he played for Team USA alongside legends like Kobe Bryant.“I played with some Hall of Fame talents and they just didn’t become Hall of Fame talents when they woke up and got out of bed,” Cousins recalled. “It’s a big behind-the-scenes process that a lot of people don’t see. I’ve seen those greats go from great to great. I just try to take what I’ve seen from them and apply it to myself.”While the Indian capital has been gripped by basketball fever this time, Cousins has the ultimate plan for the Indian kid, who you could say doesn’t have the typical build for the sport.“Well, first of all, you have to believe in yourself in order for another person to believe in you,” he argued. “If your confidence is built on what the next person says, it can also be destroyed by what the next person says. So your confidence has to start with yourself, the belief in yourself, and then the confidence also comes from the work you put into the craft. Let the work, allow the repetition to build your confidence. Build the confidence in yourself and everything else will follow.”
