Having not played in the league for nearly two years, former Golden State Warriors' center DeMarcus Cousins admits his NBA career is likely over after 11 seasons.
Cousins most recently played in Taiwan but hasn't been able to garner another NBA deal since playing for the Denver Nuggets at the end of the 2021-22 season. The four-time All-Star is just 33-years-old, yet the latter half of his career had been plagued by serious leg injuries.
DeMarcus Cousins' lone season with the Golden State Warriors may go down as one of the biggest 'what ifs' in NBA history
NBC Sports' Monte Poole had proposed Cousins as a potential free agent option for the Warriors after they opened up a roster spot by moving Cory Joseph at the trade deadline. However, that spot unsurprisingly went to young guard Lester Quinones who was converted from a two-way contact.
Cousins was asked about the possibility of an NBA return in a recent interview with HoopsHype, but the former fifth overall pick is seemingly content on where his career and life is at.
"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."DeMarcus Cousins
Cousins left the NBA world in shock when he signed with the Warriors in the 2018 offseason. He joined the back-to-back champions having been an All-Star himself in each of the previous four seasons, adding to Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green as one of the most star-studded lineups in NBA history.
Cousins was recovering from a torn achilles though and wouldn't make his Golden State debut until January 18 against the LA Clippers. He would have his moments over the second-half of the regular season, but was never quite the same after injury.
The injury issues would continue in the first-round of the playoffs, with Cousins not returning until Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He had 14 points in Game 5 and 12 points in Game 6, but the Warriors would lose 4-2 against the Toronto Raptors after other significant injuries to Durant and Thompson.
That would ultimately prove the closest Cousins would come to an NBA championship. If that is indeed it for his NBA career, Cousins' last game would see a strong 17-point, nine-rebound, five-assist performance against the Warriors in Game 5 of the first-round of the 2022 playoffs.