DeMarcus Cousins in his prime was arguably the best center in the league, having been selected as an All-Star four times in a row and was a fairly dominant center who could do just about anything on the court. But Cousins last appeared in the NBA three years ago when he played for the Denver Nuggets, and Cousins hasn't played in the NBA since that season.
Cousins recently appeared on a podcast hosted by NBA legend Dwight Howard called Above The Rim with DH 12, revealing that the reason for his retirement from the NBA was not because of his poor skills, but because of other factors. Cousins mentioned Jaylen Brown, who was not selected for the United States men's Olympic Dream Team, on the show: "The reason I wasn't in the NBA was the same as his failure to make the Olympic team - personality. If you really know Jaylen Brown, you should know what he stands for and know how he behaves himself, but they just don't like people like that, they want someone who is completely submissive, and if you have an opinion, it's best to keep your mouth shut. ”
Cousins officially announced his retirement from the NBA in an interview with HoopsHype reporter Sero · Aseo · Jock earlier this year, saying at the time: "I know I've spent a while here, but you know there's been a while I've been trying to get back here. But I'm in my life right now, with everything I have besides basketball, and I'm in a good position. So like I said, I'm excited about the future. You know, my 12 years in the league are just one or more small chapters in my life, and I'm ready to move on to the next phase and see what comes my way. ”
Cousins recently played an exhibition game with Howard and Quinn Cook with the Taiwan Broncos, and from the former All-Star center's statement, it sounds like he would have liked his NBA career to last longer, but was ultimately left out by all teams for personality reasons. In Cousins' final NBA season, he played in 31 games for the Nuggets, averaging 13.9 minutes per game and scoring 8.9 points and still being very efficient.