Alright, time to break down where prime DeMarcus Cousins really stood compared to other NBA centers. Feels like everyone just kinda throws opinions around without digging in, you know? So yeah, I decided to actually do the homework myself. Pulled up old stats and game footage – whole thing took way longer than I thought.
Starting From Scratch
First, I needed clear years for ‘prime Boogie’. Looked it up – mostly agreed it’s around that Sacramento peak before the injury, like 2016-2017 seasons. Searched basic stats first: points per game, rebounds, assists. Easy to find, tons of sites got those. Cousins put up monster numbers on paper, no arguing that. Nearly 27 points and 11 boards one season? Crazy stuff.
The Real Digging Begins
But numbers lie sometimes, right? Saw folks online calling him ’empty stats’ cause his teams stunk. Had to check the winning part. Looked back – Kings were horrible, barely touching 30 wins when Boogie was carrying them. That matters. Then I pulled up stats showing how the team performed with him on versus off the court. Yeah… the drop-off was brutal. Without him, they basically fell apart. Confirmed he wasn’t just stuffing his own stats – the whole team relied on him way too much.
The All-Star Question
Next up: stacking him against other top centers of his time. Made a list:
- Dwight Howard (still kinda dominant back then)
- Marc Gasol (super smart player)
- Andre Drummond (rebounding machine)
- Rudy Gobert (young, defensive beast)
- DeAndre Jordan (dunks and boards)
Compared raw stats again. Cousins always topped points, rebounds were a fight with Drummond/Howard, but assists? That’s where Boogie stood way out. Centers passing like that? Rare. But then looked at defense. And honestly… that’s the hole. Gasol and Gobert were shutting guys down consistently. Cousins? More hit-or-miss. Had moments, sure, but not the same anchor.
Putting It Together
After all that clicking and rewatching old Pelicans playoff games (that Indiana disaster!), here’s where I landed:Offensively, peak Boogie was easily top 2 or 3 in the NBA. Could score anywhere, grab boards, pass like a guard. Scary good.Defensively? Meh. Some effort, some good plays, but nowhere near the best. Kinda lazy at times. And the winning? Never really happened. Great numbers on bad teams is his *? Absolute elite talent. Maybe the best scoring center for a couple years straight. But if I had to pick THE best center of his prime years, I gotta go with Gasol – smarter, better defender, led his team deeper. Boogie was a monster, just not THE monster.
Done recording this. Hope it makes sense. Stats are noisy, man. Gotta look at the whole picture.
