Former Mobile basketball star DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t see NBA return: new interview

WKRG
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MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Mobile native and former LeFlore Rattlers star basketball player DeMarcus Cousins says he doesn’t see himself returning to the NBA, according to a new interview.

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The 33-year-old center for the Taiwan Beer Leopards said in an interview with Cyro Asseo de Choch of HoopsHype about his life and career and a potential return to the NBA:

“Honestly, no. I know I’ve had my time there. You know, there was a point where I was trying to make that happen. But the place I’m in my life now, just with everything I’ve got going on, just outside of basketball, like I’m in a good place. So, like I said, I’m excited for what I have ahead and my future.”

FILE – In this April 4, 2019, file photo, then-Golden State Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins is shown during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
FILE – In this April 4, 2019, file photo, then-Golden State Warriors’ DeMarcus Cousins is shown during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

The 12-year NBA veteran, four-time NBA All-Star, and NBA All-Rookie Team selection in 2011 is in his first season playing in Taiwan after spending last year playing for the Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico.

Cousins last played in the NBA in the 2021-2022 season for the Denver Nuggets.

He was a star in the basketball world since playing with LeFlore. In the final three seasons, Cousins helped lead the Rattlers to an overall record of 89-9, three 6A regional tournament champions, and a 6A State Tournament Finals appearance in his senior season.

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He was a five-star player in 2009, where he was a Parade All-American and played in the McDonald’s All-American Boys Game.

As a five-star in all major recruiting sports media outlets, including the top center according to ESPN, Cousins chose to play for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Cousins was the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by Sacramento Kings. There, he averaged 21.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks in six and a half seasons before being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 20, 2017.

After two years with the Pelicans, he looked to join a super team, the Golden State Warriors, in the 2018-2019 NBA season, where he played and started 30 games.

In the next offseason, on July 16, 2019, Cousins was set to join the Los Angeles Lakers and former teammate Davis. Just a month after signing with the Lakers, Cousins suffered a torn ACL in a pickup game to prepare for the season. The Lakers granted him a $1.75 million disabled player exception for Cousins and released him in late February.

Later that summer, the Lakers won the NBA Title in the COVID-controlled offseason. Cousins was granted an NBA Championship ring by the team.

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Cousins bounced around four teams from December 2020 to April 2023, including the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Milwaukee and Denver.

He also helped the United States win the gold medal in the 2014 Spain World Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics Games.

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