NEW DELHI: In the early 2010s, if you were a 6-foot-10 powerhouse with the ball-handling skills of a point guard and the shooting range of a sniper, you weren’t called a “unicorn,” you were called a problem. Before that became the era of positionless basketball. NBAThe Golden Rule, DeMarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins was a disruptor, a big man who refused to be tied to the bottom.On the sidelines of the second edition of the 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 storied journey, the evolution of the ‘Big Man’ archetype, and a message for the growing hoops culture in India.
Evolution of ‘big’
For years, critics encouraged Cousins to stay closer to the rim, closer to the basket, instead of handling the ball, shooting from distance, or making plays like guards. Today, however, the league is dominated by versatile giants like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, players who followed the path Cousins helped pave. Nevertheless, he refuses the title of trailblazer.“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a pioneer, ’cause there were a lot of guys that came in front of me that had a lot of talent in the game. I think of guys like Hakeem Olajon, Charles Barclays, Derrick Colemans, Tim Duncans … Kevin Garnett, ‘Cousins,“But it’s great to see that skill set adopted in a big man. To call myself a pioneer, I think that’s a bit of a reach because I saw guys that helped model my game.”He notes that the basketball world has finally caught on to his brand of play. “I’m glad to see the big guys can show off their full arsenal and skills. It shows the evolution of the game. I’d say it’s more so now than it used to be. It was seen as a bit more taboo back in the day. I remember being a kid, and if you were over six-five you were automatically trying to teach you how they were trying to teach you.“
A physical battle is a mental battle
Cousins’ journey has not been without its dark corridors. After suffering a career-altering Achilles tear following an ACL injury, the struggle came into being somewhat.For a man whose identity was tied to physical dominance, the way back was a lesson in humility. “Finding that confidence in yourself. That confidence, just trusting your body, trusting your movements,” she 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. Regaining that confidence in your movement, your body… the mental part is probably the hardest part.”
Asia Thomas, DeMarcus Cousins (third from right) headline BUDX NBA House 2026 in Delhi (ANI photo)
‘Know the business first’
Cousins also carries signs of the NBA’s colder side. In 2017, he famously traded from Sacramento to New Orleans while still in his jersey during All-Star Weekend. Thus his advice to the next generation is rooted in pragmatism.“Just figuring out business quickly,” he added with a smile. “Learning about the business before you get into it. That was probably my fault, and just to find the next person, just understand what you’re getting yourself into.”But the business side is balanced by the purity of the craft, which he witnessed firsthand while playing for Team USA alongside legends like Kobe Bryant.“I played with some Hall of Fame talent, and they didn’t just wake up, roll out of bed and become Hall of Fame talent,” Cousins recalled. “It’s a big behind-the-scenes process that a lot of people don’t see. I saw with my own eyes how great people became great. Just trying to take what I saw from them and apply it to myself.”As the basketball fever grips the Indian capital this time around, Cousins has a definitive outline for the Indian kid who arguably lacks the specific build for the game.“Well, one, you have to believe in yourself so that the next person will believe in you,” he asserted. “If your confidence is built by the next person’s words, it can be broken by the next person’s words. So your confidence has to start with yourself, believe in yourself, and then confidence comes from the work you put into that skill. Let work, repetition build your confidence.“
