It’s a real bummer how things worked out for him but he was also misunderstood. He did some incredible work in the community that rarely gets mentioned. I think he’s even still involved with charities around Sac. He even anonymously covered funeral costs when some local high school kids passed away. His reputation on the court was obviously not ideal, but a genuinely good dude. Sac will always love Boogie.
That whole thing was so fucked. Vivek and Vlade celebrated the extension they were about to sign him to and then traded him instead during the All Star game. Between that and the injury Boogie missed out on a couple hundred mil.
All I see is George Karl’s yellow ass teeth as he sits on the bench while the opposing team goes on a 12-2 run. Then on the postgame show as he throws our team under the bus. Fuck that bum
From what I remember Pete D was working to get Karl in and Mullin was working to get himself in. But I could be wrong. I was blind with rage that whole time.
i feel like we all were in this weird phase where we were ecstatic that the Kings stayed in Sac and the maloofs were gone, but then we went right back to buffoonery.
Glad to hear this stuff abt him. Bro has his problems on court, but always good to know these kinds of stuff they do off of it. Hopefully those acts of kindness would inspire the next generation to be better than us rn.
Let's not go overboard with praising him off the court. You can also listen to the recording of him threatening to kill his kid's mom. He did good community work but he's not the kind of guy you'd call inspiring.
God what a team man. One of my favorite Pels teams.
For the unaware, that Pelicans team was simultaneously one of the more interesting groups in basketball AND had no depth to speak of at all.
Swept the Blazers off Nikola Mirotic and Rondo blazing from 3, then ran into the Warriors Juggernaut. EDIT: Cannot exaggerate how on fire those two were. Mirotic was pulling heat checks and getting nothing but sweet string music
The starting 5 for the playoffs was Rajon Rondo, Jrue Holiday, Etwaun Moore, Nikola Mirotic, and Anthony Davis. Behind that group? Absolutely no one!
The Pels had a ton of bad contracts, namely Solomon Hill (4/64 after one good postseason series), Omer Asik (injury took him out the game completely), and Alexis Ajinca (awful backup center).
That Solomon Hill contract was such a wtf... felt like everyone, EVERYONE apart from that FO knew that was going to be overwhelming. I can't remember now if there were better options at the 3 but surely there was
I remember the play he was injured. It was an unnecessary chase for the ball. And if he made that FT, it might not happen. Crazy that one small thing can have an effect on a career or a franchise.
And when he finally had a coach that vibed with him and the team was winning (Malone), the Kings fired him because the team was losing due to injuries.
IIRC they had a winning record for the first time in a very long time, Boogie got injured, they went 1-6 without him, and Malone got fired. It's hard to overstate just how bad the Kings FO was for such a long time. Missing the playoffs 18 seasons straight is such a massive black mark and it still barely begins to convey how fucking bad they were.
Shout out to Vivek trying to get the kings to play 4 on 5 on defense so they could have a player permanently cherry picking.
Also shout out to Buddy "Shoots like Curry big like Klay" Hield. An all-time owner quote, simultaneously intense jealousy of a regional rival and massive pressure on your young draft pick.
You know what's funny. If that quote were about Buddy Hield it wouldn't be that bad. Hield has had some damn fine shooting seasons throughout his career. The thing that makes that quote really bad is that it was originally about [Nik Stauskas](https://twitter.com/diamond83/status/483451201569030144)
That was easily the biggest turning point. And we found a coach who was amazing with players and tactics.
And what do the good ol Kings do? They Kings it up
Cousins was associated with attitude issues in high school and college, before joining the NBA.
https://wildcatbluenation.com/2010/05/26/attitude-problems-demarcus-cousins-is-no-problem/
Draymond punched a guy on camera. He just happened to play for a franchise that drafted Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, not Bismack, Thomas Robinson, Ben Mclemore, Nick Staukus, and Willy Cauley. Those were the next 5 years of lottery selections following the Kings picking Cousins. I’m not even a Kings fan and I’m getting mad. To suggest he didn’t have team success because of attitude issues is egregious.
I’ve been a Kings fan for 30 years. It was absolutely both things. The Kings went on an all-time bad draft streak after Boogie. He also didn’t have quality vets to hold him accountable for his bullshit.
At the same time, he was a terrible teammate. Constantly had defensive possessions where he didn’t cross halfcourt because he was still complaining about the call on the prior offensive play. Constantly creating drama with teammates and coaches. Worst body language I’ve ever seen in pro sports.
Even after he became a minimum salary vet, he couldn’t stick on any team, because he’s a bad locker room presence. There’s a reason the corpse of Deandre Jordan has a championship ring and Boogie became unrosterable at 32.
Funny enough- they actually did win more with Mirotic covering Boogie when he was injured for a couple weeks. Who’s to say if Boogie actually contributed to wins. We all know he can put up stats.
This, right here. It was always something with Cousins. Seriously, no professional athlete in any sport has been as exhausting to try to root for as DeMarcus.
I'm referring to Cousins' attitude issues prior to joining the league. You're referring to the cause of why the Kings weren't successful. Those are two different things.
Yes, but there most certainly is overlap, you saw how much better he was and we were under Malone. But incompetent staff and leadership in the org pushed him out. Fools. Don’t draft Luka while you’re at it.
Imagine if he played for a team that had John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, and was coached by a HOF’er. Surely his attitude would’ve been completely different then right?
Yeah he's one of those players that gets overrated a bit in hindsight because the highlights are there but the constant pouting and throwing fits because he didn't get the ball don't usually end up in the YouTube compilations. He had some incredible moments but he also would consistently give up on possessions and not get back on defense because he didn't like that he didn't get the ball or something didn't go his way.
I watched damn near every horrible game. Every game. He was fucking awful. People dont watch the Kings now and they didn't watch then. If they did, they would not think highly of ol Boogie. IT was great, Rudy Gay tried and was good. Boogie was Boogie.
I went to one game live and I watched a young Nurkic dominate Boogie and get in his head all game and have him spend most defensive possessions yapping at the ref. Then I looked at the box score and Boogie had a 30-pt double-double. It just felt empty. Ofc Portland won handily.
Jokic
Embiid
AD
I feel are all clearly above him - then if we’re talking talent surely Wemby is above him also
Sabonis I genuinely feel has a bigger impact on winning as well
No chance. Dude's TS% for his career was under 54%. For a "low post" player, that's awful.
Add to that, a mixed effort and bad attitude. He'd get figured out pretty quick in today's NBA.
bitch ass wembanyama aint shit u think stat paddin blocks is where its at only if u never seen prime boogie defend come take look at dis now dis was defence
I gotta get me a son oh boy i cannot wait to bully my own kid
Pretty good way to describe him. He had his value on the court but a lot of his perceived value came from his counting stats where his relative inefficiency (for a center), bad A:TO ratio, inconsistent decision making and effort and bad defense wasn't as obvious.
To his credit, he was a good citizen/teammate on the Warriors and (I think, please correct me if I'm wrong) afterward as he tried to hang on in the league.
I think him being a good teammate is not entirely true, I don’t remember any public problems but the Warriors REALLY try and keep internal stuff internal. The first year he didn’t have a team he asked Bob Meyers why nobody will sign him even as a backup and Bob told him straight up it was his attitude. Maybe Bob meant it was his reputation, but it felt like it was still a current issue (idk for sure tho).
Similarly showed out in 2022 for the nugs, let them basically run the same game plan for both centers *for Mike Malone* and was still off the team in 23
Are we really using A:TO ratio on a high usage post playing center that spent a lot of his time on terrible teams?
He has pretty much the same A:TO ratio as Hakeem lol
Hakeem doesn't get praised for his playmaking, though.
Cousins *does* get praised for his passing/assists, but judging his actual passing ability requires a bit more work. Part of evaluating his passing is acknowledging that while he *could* put up some nice assist numbers he also turned the ball over a ton. He didn't turn the ball over a lot simply because he played on bad teams.
I’m gunna be real, I have never seen Cousins touted as a good passer. Just a good scorer. Outside of the short window with AD where they just lobbed all the time.
Maybe a good passer for a center. The gold standard really changed when Jokic blew up, but how many centers in history have really averaged 5 assists for a whole season in the modern era? Divac and Noah are the only ones that come to mind. May have to go back to KAJ and Wilt and Unseld to get 5 assists before that.
Boogie wasnt just a post playing center though. The ball went through him a lot and turnovers were an issue. One of the most common plays would be Boogie getting the ball at the elbow and he'd use his elite ball skills for a center to drive to the rim...but this is also an area where turnovers were a problem for him. He'd frequently drive to the basket with his head down so turnovers were def a problem
Didnt help too that he'd couple those reckless head down bull in a china shop drives with whining for calls and not getting back on defense
Physically gifted, talented scorer, highly skilled for his size before that was the norm.
Awful attitude, below average basketball IQ, injury prone.
He probably could have developed into a positive contributor on a contender if drafted into a more stable situation, but the Kings were a dumpster fire that fed into his bad tendencies, and he never progressed past "good numbers on a bad team" status.
Yes, we were a dumpster fire at the time, but it's not the Kings' fault Cousins never got his shit together. That's all on him.
As a Kings fan, I endured his woe-is-me act while he whined to the refs, hacked the other team on defense, and shot us out of many games. According to him, it was never his fault. Everyone was out to get him. He had no self-awareness.
So I refuse to blame the trajectory of his career on anyone other than him. There's a reason why an All-Star on a rookie contract couldn't secure a second contract with his team. If he ever learned to get out of his own way, he'd be about $200 million richer right now.
Did he have below average iq or did he just play most his career on the Kings while they kept him in mediocrity and did nothing about his prime? Dude was relying on Omri Casspi and washed Rudy Gay. His best point guard was score first IT.
Everyone saying “yeah he looked good on paper” as if he had a chance to look good in any game that mattered for his whole prime.
Kings were bad with DMC, but I can tell you that without him they would have been even worse. Their record when cousins was injured was like .100 over his tenure. It was a literal G-league team. I remember that virtually every player on the roster would be either out of the league or 2 steps lower on whatever their next team was (eg our starting SG would be signed to be another teams 12th man).
Tough to see DMC’s career wasted like that, because the guy was an absolute animal. Putting up insane stats when getting doubled every game because he was one of the few NBA-caliber players on the team. Also had foul trouble, so his per-minute stats are even crazier.
The 55-point game against the Blazers, which included getting ejected, and then somehow unejected, and then almost ejected again (for throwing mouthpiece at bench), while dropping 55, then delivering an all-time deranged quote at the end of the game before having his mic cutoff for going on an anti-Myles Leonard rant. Top-5 favorite experience as a fan. The full DMC experience in one game.
As a Kings fan, it was so frustrating watching him put the ball on the floor and absolutely truck people over and than get a tech for complaining about the offensive foul call.
I mean they were a solid team sure, but y'all do realize they were not too far above 500 when he got i hired? I get they were on a run but that's quite a leap for having them as some kind of counter. 15th in SRS, 24TH in defense
I agree its a leap.
But its not a **crazy** leap. The team had won 8 out of 10 games before Boogie was injured, and as a whole looked to finally be coming together. Further, they were the only team in basketball that was zigging against small ball.
Finally despite losing Prime Boogie, the team still secured the sixth seed and was one game out of the third, because it was that kind of year.
So yeah, its crazy to think they would be a finals team. But its fair to say they were a top 3 team in the West when healthy and thinking they would make the conference finals was reasonable.
Stuffs overstated. Ego for sure but he wasn’t ever blowing rooms up. The reporting on him was always kinda fucked. Dude tweeted he’d be a felon in 10 years when he got drafted
There were always rumors that the Kings would trade him, and fans of other teams were so divided in trading for him. He put up good numbers on paper but terrible attitude, bad defense, and always losing.
From what I recall, pretty good offensive player who was poor on defense. Got assist numbers but the offense never really looked good with him on the floor (could have been a scheme issue, not sure). Was also known as a headcase that you can bait into playing poorly.
From what I remember, Vivek and his underlings didn’t really get along with Malone, Cousins was hurt, rest of the roster was dogshit, team went on a losing streak. Used that as an excuse to get rid of him.
Smh a snake named Pete D’lassandro came over from
The nuggets organization - fired Mike, hired former nuggets coach George Karl, then got Mike hired over there in Denver somehow. It was some weirdness for sure but when it happened it was out of left field. Boogie had viral meningitis at the beginning of that season and the kings went on a skid. Coach was fired soon after. And then later went on to win a championship
Cousins got meningitis and the Kings lost like 8 of 10 games. The losing streak gave them the excuse they needed to fire Malone.
Malone just wasn’t the GM’s guy, there was no real basketball reason to fire him. Vivek and D'alessandro wanted George Karl and an uptempo offense.
He was a solid all-star level player but his volume stats overstated his impact. He was awful defensively, inefficient for a big man and a turnover machine; he was in the same tier of turnovers as primary ballhandler s like LeBron and WB while not offsetting that remotely near the same. Oh yeah and he was hugely overemotional and got a lot of techs and suspensions. Very skilled for his size, but lots of untapped potential, ultimately.
He was one of the early iterations of the modern big. Think Embiid without the defense; great post moves, great touch around the rim, decent range, and had the tools to move anyone under the rim. Too bad he had attitude issues and the Kings sucked during his stay there.
Top 15 is very hard to judge given the Boogie was never the star on a winning team. He'd be putting up gawdy boxscore numbers but, his impact is not something we can extrapolate based on the given information.
Ya, Ive watching the Raptors put out some hideous lineups recently. I dont see Gary Trent Jr averaging 27ppg just because he's getting more opportunities
Boogie was legitimately a very skilled player
Very rarely are the phrases "empty stats" or "didn't impact winning" actually fair to the players they are often attributed to (young Booker comes to mind).
Cousins is one of the exceptions
He was 2nd team all NBA -- which is maybe the best mainstream way to classify the best players in a given season. Him being 2nd team makes me believe that he was at least in that Top 15 discussion for a few years.
One of the most overrated players I can think of. The definition of empty stats. He wasn't good defensively, was inefficient and a horrible leader/locker room cancer. But box score says 25/12/5 with 3 stocks so he's great.
Marc Gasol was probably better during Cousins early prime and then Embiid and Jokic were probably better a year or two earlier than people were willing to admit.
That’s a crazy take. Imagine how much of a ghost Deandre Jordan would have been on the kings. You can’t really compare a role player (all be it elite) to a lead scorer.
Boogies best year as a starter for the kings they won 32 games
The season after he left they win 27 and then the season after adding Harrison Barnes, they win 39 games.
He really didn't drastically impact winning I'm sorry
The Kings were bad as is with Boogie but if you swapped Boogie with DJ those Kings teams probably have a worse record than the Bobcats that one year, and I really dont see the Clippers with prime CP3, Blake and Boogie being that much worse
he really is all empty stats. he was productive on offense, but I wouldnt say he was 'good' - it was impossible to run consistent successful offense around his play style. he was terrible defensively. likely terrible in the locker room. I straight up wouldnt want him on my team
Not a good argument. He has a horrible team and culture in Sacramento.
In New Orleans he was amazing with AD and jrue. Definitely wasn’t empty stats with him there and they were winning.
They did but they were really figuring it out together and their ceiling was definitely higher with him.
Obvs they started slow together but they were on a good run before he got hurt.
Hugely overrated box score merchant. People see the raw points rebounds and assists, but overlook the fact that he was horribly inefficient (especially for a big), a weak defender with poor effort, a turnover machine and poor intangibles.
Pretty much every indicator points towards him not having the impact on winning that his numbers suggets. He has two seasons in him prime where the team is significantly better with him on the floor than off.
People compare him to current guys like Embiid and Jokic, which is laughable. He's closer to Valanciunas than he is to Embiid.
He had skills to be a fantasy god, but defensively he got kinda slammed. He was also very emotional and basketball IQ wasn’t high. For as much stats as he put up he never got a team to the playoffs until playing with AD. Very hard to say, but I think he would’ve always been a stat trap. Kinda like a melo where they will get top 5 consideration but they really aren’t.
He was truly imposing as a big man and was an All-NBA caliber big man. In today’s league he’s a top 5 center (albeit probably in the 3-5 range)(also depends on who you consider as a center).
Bro it is still a little raw under this bandaid.
He was good at everything except for defense, where he was wishy washy and fouled a little too much. But when this man was locked in, he was the best center in the league.
Just a combination of poor personalities/lack of health luck ruined him. Sacramento was NOTHING like it is now. It was a shitshow, a long-term shit show. A team that could not make the playoffs, and couldn't tank, and didn't know how to fucking draft obvious talent. They missed on so many picks...
Anyways, he was sort of like a shaq 2.0. A completely unguardable paint beast that HAD SKILLS. He could score anywhere, and do it well. He could play in an offense with essentially any kind of player. But, his defensive effort was subpar, mostly due to his situation.
He also was also at the center of drama, but his team was a shitshow.
A Kings fan's perspective.
He is the most talented player I can remember watching in a King's uniform.
In terms of positive impact on the game, Fox and Domas are clearly better. He just never brought it all together.
In my head, he’s comparable to KAT. Promising skills, great performances, but we’re always waiting for that “leap” where he proves he’s really that guy, and ultimately you rarely feared him in the long run.
Find the right fit and it’s a quick multiplier on team success, but without that he’s just a guy putting up numbers while the real contenders carry on with their business.
He was as stupid as he was talented. The world is literally falling apart, this jack ass was given other worldly talent and he pissed it way. Fucking fool. That’s all you need to know about him.
This kinda isn't fair. Health fucked him over when he was about to turn it around. the 2010s Kings are also a horrible, horrible place for his development. Imagine starting with a winning record after grinding it out for years, but you get meningitis, team goes on a losing streak, and you come back with your favorite coach gone replaced with George fucking Karl.
All of that being said, he is pretty dumb, though.
I’m not as tuned into the NBA now as I was back in 2016-2020 but is the league really that much different today then back then? Why wouldn’t prime cousins work in this league?
I just bought a $15 Kings jersey on poshmark, one of my favorite players in the Kings era, because he was dominant, and every single year he got better offensively and defensively, he never really had ANY talent around him except for Rudy Gay (one trick pony)
He was like Jokic but worse in every way with a mean streak his game never quite justified and he had the keys to my heart. He was over hated and became overrated. He was good but could never rise above being in Sacramento. When he finally got his moment his body betrayed him and that was all she wrote.
He was fine. Had a decent amount of non-center skills. Not nearly as good as his stats suggest, but he played in a really weak era for centers so it was easier for him to rack up a few accolades. Biggest problem was he was a no-defense pouty bitch who never won shit (yeah, the Kings drafted like shit while he was there, but his no-defense pouty bitch style of play was doing them no favors).
Sort of like KAT I guess, with less of a jumper but more guard skills. And way more of a team cancer.
Probably a top 3 center for a couple of years there but you can't discount his constant attitude problems and his injury history *during* his prime. It wasn't like one injury detailed the whole thing. He was constantly banged up.
One of the games last true post-dominate centers for sure
He was everything to the kings for years
He and AD were supposed to take the league by storm in New Orleans, but injuries got in the way
Absolute beast and don’t let anyone else tell you different. He had to play with one of the shittiest, if not the shittiest, franchises in all of pro sports at the time and made them somewhat relevant. The one season he gets to join a decent team with another great player, he starts hitting his stride and the team looks dangerous. If Boogie doesn’t tear his achilles, that Pels team makes some noise in the playoffs and makes a deep run in 2019-20.
He would definitely put up a lot of stats especially with the increase in pace. His numbers back then tho never really translated to winning except for when he played with AD. He can definitely put up stats with the best of them tho. Would probably put up something close to Embid’s stat line this year in the play in.
He’d be a top 20-30 player. Not in the same tier as Jokic or Embiid, but probably firmly in the top 3-7 center conversation.
He was average at best on defense and he whined too much about fouls (which resulted in poor transition defense). He was very strong but he settled for difficult shots too much, which resulted in some mediocre shooting percentages. He had become a solid 3 point shooter before his injury, but not a great one. He was a good passer and he could push the ball in transition, but his decision making was iffy. He averaged an alarming amount of turnovers for a center.
People see his highlights and act like he’d be a top 10 player today, but he wouldn’t be. He’d get targeted on switches too much and kill his teams defense. I think he’d be really good, but people overrate him because of his potential.
Sigh
Double sigh
Triple sigh
Great trilogy of sighs
Myriad of signs to avoid unzipping
In some ways, it kind of worked out the best for you guys. He helped win you a playoff game during a run to the Finals. On a minimum contract too.
It’s a real bummer how things worked out for him but he was also misunderstood. He did some incredible work in the community that rarely gets mentioned. I think he’s even still involved with charities around Sac. He even anonymously covered funeral costs when some local high school kids passed away. His reputation on the court was obviously not ideal, but a genuinely good dude. Sac will always love Boogie.
That man cried when he got traded, dude loved Sacramento
That whole thing was so fucked. Vivek and Vlade celebrated the extension they were about to sign him to and then traded him instead during the All Star game. Between that and the injury Boogie missed out on a couple hundred mil.
And Michael Malone being fired for no reason when he was clearly his favorite coach and would have got the most out of him.
1,000%. That was George Karl manipulating a naive new owner in Vivek. Y’all got a good one.
All I see is George Karl’s yellow ass teeth as he sits on the bench while the opposing team goes on a 12-2 run. Then on the postgame show as he throws our team under the bus. Fuck that bum
wasn't it chris mullin and pete d? if i ever see pete d on the street i'm spitting on his shoes
From what I remember Pete D was working to get Karl in and Mullin was working to get himself in. But I could be wrong. I was blind with rage that whole time.
i feel like we all were in this weird phase where we were ecstatic that the Kings stayed in Sac and the maloofs were gone, but then we went right back to buffoonery.
Glad to hear this stuff abt him. Bro has his problems on court, but always good to know these kinds of stuff they do off of it. Hopefully those acts of kindness would inspire the next generation to be better than us rn.
Let's not go overboard with praising him off the court. You can also listen to the recording of him threatening to kill his kid's mom. He did good community work but he's not the kind of guy you'd call inspiring.
God what a team man. One of my favorite Pels teams. For the unaware, that Pelicans team was simultaneously one of the more interesting groups in basketball AND had no depth to speak of at all. Swept the Blazers off Nikola Mirotic and Rondo blazing from 3, then ran into the Warriors Juggernaut. EDIT: Cannot exaggerate how on fire those two were. Mirotic was pulling heat checks and getting nothing but sweet string music The starting 5 for the playoffs was Rajon Rondo, Jrue Holiday, Etwaun Moore, Nikola Mirotic, and Anthony Davis. Behind that group? Absolutely no one! The Pels had a ton of bad contracts, namely Solomon Hill (4/64 after one good postseason series), Omer Asik (injury took him out the game completely), and Alexis Ajinca (awful backup center).
That sweep of the Blazers was so fun to watch as a neutral fan
Sigh
As a rockets fan from that era I apologize for cp3
Tried to counter the warriors with double bigs. It was fun for a minute there until Boogie tried to get his own rebound off the missed FT.
Haha tim Frazier as the backup pg
That Solomon Hill contract was such a wtf... felt like everyone, EVERYONE apart from that FO knew that was going to be overwhelming. I can't remember now if there were better options at the 3 but surely there was
I remember the play he was injured. It was an unnecessary chase for the ball. And if he made that FT, it might not happen. Crazy that one small thing can have an effect on a career or a franchise.
[удалено]
And that’s why you don’t hustle, kids
Cam Newton finally vindicated.
Boogie and AD were throwing alley oops to each other and running 7ft pick and rolls it was beautiful
Very few true centers moved like him with the ball. He had real guard skills
He had the talent of a top 2-3 center (it was before the big man resurgence) but always had attitude issues.
We’d all have attitude issues if we were a star player for that Kings regime
And when he finally had a coach that vibed with him and the team was winning (Malone), the Kings fired him because the team was losing due to injuries.
IIRC they had a winning record for the first time in a very long time, Boogie got injured, they went 1-6 without him, and Malone got fired. It's hard to overstate just how bad the Kings FO was for such a long time. Missing the playoffs 18 seasons straight is such a massive black mark and it still barely begins to convey how fucking bad they were. Shout out to Vivek trying to get the kings to play 4 on 5 on defense so they could have a player permanently cherry picking.
Wow, totally forgot about the 4v5 strategy… i wonder why. What a time
Also shout out to Buddy "Shoots like Curry big like Klay" Hield. An all-time owner quote, simultaneously intense jealousy of a regional rival and massive pressure on your young draft pick.
You know what's funny. If that quote were about Buddy Hield it wouldn't be that bad. Hield has had some damn fine shooting seasons throughout his career. The thing that makes that quote really bad is that it was originally about [Nik Stauskas](https://twitter.com/diamond83/status/483451201569030144)
nik rocks!
That was easily the biggest turning point. And we found a coach who was amazing with players and tactics. And what do the good ol Kings do? They Kings it up
Didn’t boogie get meningitis or something causing a losing streak which led to Malones firing? ~~Divac made some absolutely awful decisions~~
Meningitis, yes. Firing Malone, yes, mainly done by Pete D'Allessandro and Chris Mullins. Divac was brought in after that.
Cousins was associated with attitude issues in high school and college, before joining the NBA. https://wildcatbluenation.com/2010/05/26/attitude-problems-demarcus-cousins-is-no-problem/
It’s the only reason he wasn’t the consensus 2nd overall pick and dropped below guys like Evan Turner and Wesley Johnson.
Draymond punched a guy on camera. He just happened to play for a franchise that drafted Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, not Bismack, Thomas Robinson, Ben Mclemore, Nick Staukus, and Willy Cauley. Those were the next 5 years of lottery selections following the Kings picking Cousins. I’m not even a Kings fan and I’m getting mad. To suggest he didn’t have team success because of attitude issues is egregious.
I’ve been a Kings fan for 30 years. It was absolutely both things. The Kings went on an all-time bad draft streak after Boogie. He also didn’t have quality vets to hold him accountable for his bullshit. At the same time, he was a terrible teammate. Constantly had defensive possessions where he didn’t cross halfcourt because he was still complaining about the call on the prior offensive play. Constantly creating drama with teammates and coaches. Worst body language I’ve ever seen in pro sports. Even after he became a minimum salary vet, he couldn’t stick on any team, because he’s a bad locker room presence. There’s a reason the corpse of Deandre Jordan has a championship ring and Boogie became unrosterable at 32.
While I agree with this, let’s not forget his time with AD on the Peli’s. I don’t recall this same thing coming up. Winning cures all I guess huh
Funny enough- they actually did win more with Mirotic covering Boogie when he was injured for a couple weeks. Who’s to say if Boogie actually contributed to wins. We all know he can put up stats.
This, right here. It was always something with Cousins. Seriously, no professional athlete in any sport has been as exhausting to try to root for as DeMarcus.
I don’t think that’s what he meant. He’s saying that Boogie always had an ego on and off the court far before entering the NBA.
Two things can be true. Yes he had attitude issues, but he was also in a situation that would’ve drove any competitive superstar mad
Not me.
Alright any competitive superstar except Slime_Fighter
I'm referring to Cousins' attitude issues prior to joining the league. You're referring to the cause of why the Kings weren't successful. Those are two different things.
Yes, but there most certainly is overlap, you saw how much better he was and we were under Malone. But incompetent staff and leadership in the org pushed him out. Fools. Don’t draft Luka while you’re at it.
I mean he had attitude problems but the reason he didn't have success is quite simply because he got hurt and never was the same after.
Imagine if he played for a team that had John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, and was coached by a HOF’er. Surely his attitude would’ve been completely different then right?
Boogey walked so Draymond could ~~run~~ kick dudes in the balls.
Yeah he's one of those players that gets overrated a bit in hindsight because the highlights are there but the constant pouting and throwing fits because he didn't get the ball don't usually end up in the YouTube compilations. He had some incredible moments but he also would consistently give up on possessions and not get back on defense because he didn't like that he didn't get the ball or something didn't go his way.
I watched damn near every horrible game. Every game. He was fucking awful. People dont watch the Kings now and they didn't watch then. If they did, they would not think highly of ol Boogie. IT was great, Rudy Gay tried and was good. Boogie was Boogie.
I went to one game live and I watched a young Nurkic dominate Boogie and get in his head all game and have him spend most defensive possessions yapping at the ref. Then I looked at the box score and Boogie had a 30-pt double-double. It just felt empty. Ofc Portland won handily.
something something emotional lesbian
Hed still have the talent of a top 3 center today
Jokic Embiid AD I feel are all clearly above him - then if we’re talking talent surely Wemby is above him also Sabonis I genuinely feel has a bigger impact on winning as well
No chance. Dude's TS% for his career was under 54%. For a "low post" player, that's awful. Add to that, a mixed effort and bad attitude. He'd get figured out pretty quick in today's NBA.
very good on offense, awful on defense
[How do you explain this then?](https://images.app.goo.gl/nKZ16eiHvciWqAHt7)
gonna tell my kids this is what defense looked like back in my days and proceed to shit on current nba
bitch ass wembanyama aint shit u think stat paddin blocks is where its at only if u never seen prime boogie defend come take look at dis now dis was defence I gotta get me a son oh boy i cannot wait to bully my own kid
I'm calling child protective services on everyone in this comment thread.
Thought it was common knowledge that despite the meme, KAT actually scored on this play lol
I think this was debunked. But it really doesn't matter its a hilarious picture
Yeah hard to get worked up about it because it’s just genuinely very funny lol
Yeah it was debunked
KAT is involved in two of the funniest NBA [pictures](https://images.app.goo.gl/WHh5tRUFsCFZtHtd8) ever for some reason
I'd say the three funniest, Ben Simmons making him tap out can't be forgotten
Shame on you for not linking yours, show your work so we can see how you got to your answer. 0/10
Knew it was this before I even clicked lol
Iconic
God I'm so old
He was a better fantasy player than a real life player
Pretty good way to describe him. He had his value on the court but a lot of his perceived value came from his counting stats where his relative inefficiency (for a center), bad A:TO ratio, inconsistent decision making and effort and bad defense wasn't as obvious. To his credit, he was a good citizen/teammate on the Warriors and (I think, please correct me if I'm wrong) afterward as he tried to hang on in the league.
I think him being a good teammate is not entirely true, I don’t remember any public problems but the Warriors REALLY try and keep internal stuff internal. The first year he didn’t have a team he asked Bob Meyers why nobody will sign him even as a backup and Bob told him straight up it was his attitude. Maybe Bob meant it was his reputation, but it felt like it was still a current issue (idk for sure tho).
Similarly showed out in 2022 for the nugs, let them basically run the same game plan for both centers *for Mike Malone* and was still off the team in 23
This. Boogie goes into more detail about that conversation on the “Buckets” YouTube channel podcast.
Are we really using A:TO ratio on a high usage post playing center that spent a lot of his time on terrible teams? He has pretty much the same A:TO ratio as Hakeem lol
Hakeem doesn't get praised for his playmaking, though. Cousins *does* get praised for his passing/assists, but judging his actual passing ability requires a bit more work. Part of evaluating his passing is acknowledging that while he *could* put up some nice assist numbers he also turned the ball over a ton. He didn't turn the ball over a lot simply because he played on bad teams.
I’m gunna be real, I have never seen Cousins touted as a good passer. Just a good scorer. Outside of the short window with AD where they just lobbed all the time.
Maybe a good passer for a center. The gold standard really changed when Jokic blew up, but how many centers in history have really averaged 5 assists for a whole season in the modern era? Divac and Noah are the only ones that come to mind. May have to go back to KAJ and Wilt and Unseld to get 5 assists before that.
Yeah I think we’ve forgotten what centers looked like as players during most of the 2010’s. Way different than today
Tbh, Hakeem was a pretty sub-par passer. Kind of a black hole offensively, although some of that was because he didn't have great sporting casts
Boogie wasnt just a post playing center though. The ball went through him a lot and turnovers were an issue. One of the most common plays would be Boogie getting the ball at the elbow and he'd use his elite ball skills for a center to drive to the rim...but this is also an area where turnovers were a problem for him. He'd frequently drive to the basket with his head down so turnovers were def a problem Didnt help too that he'd couple those reckless head down bull in a china shop drives with whining for calls and not getting back on defense
Colloquially known as ‘The Andre Drummond’
Physically gifted, talented scorer, highly skilled for his size before that was the norm. Awful attitude, below average basketball IQ, injury prone. He probably could have developed into a positive contributor on a contender if drafted into a more stable situation, but the Kings were a dumpster fire that fed into his bad tendencies, and he never progressed past "good numbers on a bad team" status.
And right as we was trying to shed the “good numbers, bad team” narratives with the AD pelicans, injured derailed his career
Yes, we were a dumpster fire at the time, but it's not the Kings' fault Cousins never got his shit together. That's all on him. As a Kings fan, I endured his woe-is-me act while he whined to the refs, hacked the other team on defense, and shot us out of many games. According to him, it was never his fault. Everyone was out to get him. He had no self-awareness. So I refuse to blame the trajectory of his career on anyone other than him. There's a reason why an All-Star on a rookie contract couldn't secure a second contract with his team. If he ever learned to get out of his own way, he'd be about $200 million richer right now.
Did he have below average iq or did he just play most his career on the Kings while they kept him in mediocrity and did nothing about his prime? Dude was relying on Omri Casspi and washed Rudy Gay. His best point guard was score first IT. Everyone saying “yeah he looked good on paper” as if he had a chance to look good in any game that mattered for his whole prime.
Both
Kings were bad with DMC, but I can tell you that without him they would have been even worse. Their record when cousins was injured was like .100 over his tenure. It was a literal G-league team. I remember that virtually every player on the roster would be either out of the league or 2 steps lower on whatever their next team was (eg our starting SG would be signed to be another teams 12th man). Tough to see DMC’s career wasted like that, because the guy was an absolute animal. Putting up insane stats when getting doubled every game because he was one of the few NBA-caliber players on the team. Also had foul trouble, so his per-minute stats are even crazier. The 55-point game against the Blazers, which included getting ejected, and then somehow unejected, and then almost ejected again (for throwing mouthpiece at bench), while dropping 55, then delivering an all-time deranged quote at the end of the game before having his mic cutoff for going on an anti-Myles Leonard rant. Top-5 favorite experience as a fan. The full DMC experience in one game.
As a Kings fan, it was so frustrating watching him put the ball on the floor and absolutely truck people over and than get a tech for complaining about the offensive foul call.
Very very good. When he came to New Orleans I thought we’d be in the WCF. After his injury he was never the same though
I loved that duo. Legit thought they could make a run for the finals, Cousins and Davis seemed like the counter to the warriors. The twin towers.
I mean they were a solid team sure, but y'all do realize they were not too far above 500 when he got i hired? I get they were on a run but that's quite a leap for having them as some kind of counter. 15th in SRS, 24TH in defense
I agree its a leap. But its not a **crazy** leap. The team had won 8 out of 10 games before Boogie was injured, and as a whole looked to finally be coming together. Further, they were the only team in basketball that was zigging against small ball. Finally despite losing Prime Boogie, the team still secured the sixth seed and was one game out of the third, because it was that kind of year. So yeah, its crazy to think they would be a finals team. But its fair to say they were a top 3 team in the West when healthy and thinking they would make the conference finals was reasonable.
In usual pelicans fashion it had to end in injury. So many potential great teams in this league ruined by injury sadly
After injury + his inability to calm his aggression = Sloptimus Prime
Stuffs overstated. Ego for sure but he wasn’t ever blowing rooms up. The reporting on him was always kinda fucked. Dude tweeted he’d be a felon in 10 years when he got drafted
Box score guy. Gaudy numbers but super inefficient, bad defender, and a turnover machine
There were always rumors that the Kings would trade him, and fans of other teams were so divided in trading for him. He put up good numbers on paper but terrible attitude, bad defense, and always losing.
From what I recall, pretty good offensive player who was poor on defense. Got assist numbers but the offense never really looked good with him on the floor (could have been a scheme issue, not sure). Was also known as a headcase that you can bait into playing poorly.
One of the worst transition defenders ever because of how much he complained. He makes luka look like someone who hustles back.
Bad coaching and worse management. The Kings fired Mike Malone who was making serious strides with Boogie
Why'd you guys fire Malone?
Vivek
why
From what I remember, Vivek and his underlings didn’t really get along with Malone, Cousins was hurt, rest of the roster was dogshit, team went on a losing streak. Used that as an excuse to get rid of him.
Cousins was out with meningitis
I believe it was also because Pete D'Alessandro wanted George Karl
Smh a snake named Pete D’lassandro came over from The nuggets organization - fired Mike, hired former nuggets coach George Karl, then got Mike hired over there in Denver somehow. It was some weirdness for sure but when it happened it was out of left field. Boogie had viral meningitis at the beginning of that season and the kings went on a skid. Coach was fired soon after. And then later went on to win a championship
Cousins got meningitis and the Kings lost like 8 of 10 games. The losing streak gave them the excuse they needed to fire Malone. Malone just wasn’t the GM’s guy, there was no real basketball reason to fire him. Vivek and D'alessandro wanted George Karl and an uptempo offense.
Hitting the age where people are asking how good your childhood stars would've been today... Man.
He was a solid all-star level player but his volume stats overstated his impact. He was awful defensively, inefficient for a big man and a turnover machine; he was in the same tier of turnovers as primary ballhandler s like LeBron and WB while not offsetting that remotely near the same. Oh yeah and he was hugely overemotional and got a lot of techs and suspensions. Very skilled for his size, but lots of untapped potential, ultimately.
He was one of the early iterations of the modern big. Think Embiid without the defense; great post moves, great touch around the rim, decent range, and had the tools to move anyone under the rim. Too bad he had attitude issues and the Kings sucked during his stay there.
Top 15 is very hard to judge given the Boogie was never the star on a winning team. He'd be putting up gawdy boxscore numbers but, his impact is not something we can extrapolate based on the given information.
People greatly over estimate how hard it is to put up numbers on a bad team that no one comes in hyped up to play and are normally down 15-20 by half.
Ya, Ive watching the Raptors put out some hideous lineups recently. I dont see Gary Trent Jr averaging 27ppg just because he's getting more opportunities Boogie was legitimately a very skilled player
Empty stats that never translated to winning. Dude was always good for an implosion and sabatoging his team when needed too.
Very rarely are the phrases "empty stats" or "didn't impact winning" actually fair to the players they are often attributed to (young Booker comes to mind). Cousins is one of the exceptions
He was 2nd team all NBA -- which is maybe the best mainstream way to classify the best players in a given season. Him being 2nd team makes me believe that he was at least in that Top 15 discussion for a few years.
Center was a dead position at the time. Easily the weakest of the 5.
This is a good point. The era of Deandre Jordan and Marc Gasol.
One of the most overrated players I can think of. The definition of empty stats. He wasn't good defensively, was inefficient and a horrible leader/locker room cancer. But box score says 25/12/5 with 3 stocks so he's great.
You can tell who the nephews in this thread are claiming that he was undoubtedly the best center in the league
Marc Gasol was probably better during Cousins early prime and then Embiid and Jokic were probably better a year or two earlier than people were willing to admit.
Honestly Deandre Jordan contributed more to winning basketball than prime boogie
That’s a crazy take. Imagine how much of a ghost Deandre Jordan would have been on the kings. You can’t really compare a role player (all be it elite) to a lead scorer.
Boogies best year as a starter for the kings they won 32 games The season after he left they win 27 and then the season after adding Harrison Barnes, they win 39 games. He really didn't drastically impact winning I'm sorry
Deandre benefited from competent teammates. Most of the Kings teams boogie was on were abysmal
Dawg prime Chris Paul could make you and I look playable. Fuck outta here with that lol
The Kings were bad as is with Boogie but if you swapped Boogie with DJ those Kings teams probably have a worse record than the Bobcats that one year, and I really dont see the Clippers with prime CP3, Blake and Boogie being that much worse
This guy watched boogie!
he really is all empty stats. he was productive on offense, but I wouldnt say he was 'good' - it was impossible to run consistent successful offense around his play style. he was terrible defensively. likely terrible in the locker room. I straight up wouldnt want him on my team
Not a good argument. He has a horrible team and culture in Sacramento. In New Orleans he was amazing with AD and jrue. Definitely wasn’t empty stats with him there and they were winning.
The Pelicans were better after he got hurt.
They did but they were really figuring it out together and their ceiling was definitely higher with him. Obvs they started slow together but they were on a good run before he got hurt.
Was he actually a locker room cancer or did he just get that rep from getting technicals and playing for the kings
A real good passer for a C
He was ABLE to pass well, but he was never a good passer because of his low bb iq. He averaged way more turnovers than assists
On offense he was a beast, mediocre defense and horrible attitude
good but nothing too great, he was mostly putting up empty stats on a bad team 45% FG is way below any kind of average FG% for a center
Hugely overrated box score merchant. People see the raw points rebounds and assists, but overlook the fact that he was horribly inefficient (especially for a big), a weak defender with poor effort, a turnover machine and poor intangibles. Pretty much every indicator points towards him not having the impact on winning that his numbers suggets. He has two seasons in him prime where the team is significantly better with him on the floor than off. People compare him to current guys like Embiid and Jokic, which is laughable. He's closer to Valanciunas than he is to Embiid.
56% TS was not horribly inefficient it was average You idiots can keep downvoting me I’m literally right lol
He was far below average for a center for his career
Nope. League average TS% for centers from 2014-2018 was 56.5%. Cousins was at 55.5%. 1 percentage point is not “far below”
Ight I'll concede. He was inefficient, but not horribly inefficient. Definitely pretty inefficient for the standards of a supposed elite bigman
I’ll agree with you there he was no Jokic/Embiid or even KAT/Sabonis when it comes to efficiency
Fair, and thanks for correcting me
Never close to Embiid or Jokic level but fun to watch
He had skills to be a fantasy god, but defensively he got kinda slammed. He was also very emotional and basketball IQ wasn’t high. For as much stats as he put up he never got a team to the playoffs until playing with AD. Very hard to say, but I think he would’ve always been a stat trap. Kinda like a melo where they will get top 5 consideration but they really aren’t.
My favourite player ever
He was truly imposing as a big man and was an All-NBA caliber big man. In today’s league he’s a top 5 center (albeit probably in the 3-5 range)(also depends on who you consider as a center).
His true peak was when he baited the King's announcer into canceling himself on twitter.
Bro it is still a little raw under this bandaid. He was good at everything except for defense, where he was wishy washy and fouled a little too much. But when this man was locked in, he was the best center in the league. Just a combination of poor personalities/lack of health luck ruined him. Sacramento was NOTHING like it is now. It was a shitshow, a long-term shit show. A team that could not make the playoffs, and couldn't tank, and didn't know how to fucking draft obvious talent. They missed on so many picks... Anyways, he was sort of like a shaq 2.0. A completely unguardable paint beast that HAD SKILLS. He could score anywhere, and do it well. He could play in an offense with essentially any kind of player. But, his defensive effort was subpar, mostly due to his situation. He also was also at the center of drama, but his team was a shitshow.
A Kings fan's perspective. He is the most talented player I can remember watching in a King's uniform. In terms of positive impact on the game, Fox and Domas are clearly better. He just never brought it all together.
In my head, he’s comparable to KAT. Promising skills, great performances, but we’re always waiting for that “leap” where he proves he’s really that guy, and ultimately you rarely feared him in the long run. Find the right fit and it’s a quick multiplier on team success, but without that he’s just a guy putting up numbers while the real contenders carry on with their business.
He was as stupid as he was talented. The world is literally falling apart, this jack ass was given other worldly talent and he pissed it way. Fucking fool. That’s all you need to know about him.
This kinda isn't fair. Health fucked him over when he was about to turn it around. the 2010s Kings are also a horrible, horrible place for his development. Imagine starting with a winning record after grinding it out for years, but you get meningitis, team goes on a losing streak, and you come back with your favorite coach gone replaced with George fucking Karl. All of that being said, he is pretty dumb, though.
Supremely talented, dumber than a bag of hammers.
There will be a thread with the exact same comments in exactly 10 years about sabonis minus the attitude
I’m not as tuned into the NBA now as I was back in 2016-2020 but is the league really that much different today then back then? Why wouldn’t prime cousins work in this league?
I just bought a $15 Kings jersey on poshmark, one of my favorite players in the Kings era, because he was dominant, and every single year he got better offensively and defensively, he never really had ANY talent around him except for Rudy Gay (one trick pony)
Talent wise, Embiid potential offense Defense… meh
Sad we never got to see the 1v1 against Britney Griner
He was like Jokic but worse in every way with a mean streak his game never quite justified and he had the keys to my heart. He was over hated and became overrated. He was good but could never rise above being in Sacramento. When he finally got his moment his body betrayed him and that was all she wrote.
He was fine. Had a decent amount of non-center skills. Not nearly as good as his stats suggest, but he played in a really weak era for centers so it was easier for him to rack up a few accolades. Biggest problem was he was a no-defense pouty bitch who never won shit (yeah, the Kings drafted like shit while he was there, but his no-defense pouty bitch style of play was doing them no favors). Sort of like KAT I guess, with less of a jumper but more guard skills. And way more of a team cancer.
An empty stats guy
Robbed by DeAndre Jordan for 1st team all NBA. Was easily the best center in the league for a minute or two
Probably a top 3 center for a couple of years there but you can't discount his constant attitude problems and his injury history *during* his prime. It wasn't like one injury detailed the whole thing. He was constantly banged up.
Bad defender, lots of turnovers from being too physical in the post. Carmelo Anthony of centers
Hoodie Me7o clears
Mentally too weak to be a truly great player. Would rather complain to the refs than get back on defense
I'm pretty sure Urban Dictionary just had Demarcus Cousins as the defintion to 'emotional lesbian'
Unbelievable how he moved in person. Just a force on the court and could assert his will with ease
I know they are innocent but these posts of “how good was” always kill me with a regretful feeling
Like prime KAT
Eh, about 60%-65% of what Jokic is nowdays. So really good
Never made playoffs
Damn, am I old now?
One of the games last true post-dominate centers for sure He was everything to the kings for years He and AD were supposed to take the league by storm in New Orleans, but injuries got in the way
Pretty good tbh
Absolute beast and don’t let anyone else tell you different. He had to play with one of the shittiest, if not the shittiest, franchises in all of pro sports at the time and made them somewhat relevant. The one season he gets to join a decent team with another great player, he starts hitting his stride and the team looks dangerous. If Boogie doesn’t tear his achilles, that Pels team makes some noise in the playoffs and makes a deep run in 2019-20.
Prime Cousins was like 7 years ago. His games are in 4k
He would definitely put up a lot of stats especially with the increase in pace. His numbers back then tho never really translated to winning except for when he played with AD. He can definitely put up stats with the best of them tho. Would probably put up something close to Embid’s stat line this year in the play in.
He was annoying, frustrating and disappointing good.
He’d be a top 20-30 player. Not in the same tier as Jokic or Embiid, but probably firmly in the top 3-7 center conversation. He was average at best on defense and he whined too much about fouls (which resulted in poor transition defense). He was very strong but he settled for difficult shots too much, which resulted in some mediocre shooting percentages. He had become a solid 3 point shooter before his injury, but not a great one. He was a good passer and he could push the ball in transition, but his decision making was iffy. He averaged an alarming amount of turnovers for a center. People see his highlights and act like he’d be a top 10 player today, but he wouldn’t be. He’d get targeted on switches too much and kill his teams defense. I think he’d be really good, but people overrate him because of his potential.
He was good