6. DeMarcus Cousins
Poor Boogie Cousins. He’s often completely overlooked when great players are discussed, mostly because he’s never gotten a chance to show what he can do in the postseason. Cousins now has played six seasons with the Sacramento Kings, and failed to make it out of the lottery in any of them.
Fans love to blame Boogie for that, but in looking at what he adds to the Kings it’s hard to tell how exactly fault for their general lack of direction or talent falls on his shoulders. Cousins had one of his better seasons last year, and that’s saying something considering how good he’s been for most of his career.
Boogie averaged 26.9 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game last year. He also delivered on his promise of adding a serviceable three-point shot to his arsenal, making 33.3 percent of his 3.4 attempted three-pointers per game.
As good as he is on offense, for the sixth straight season Cousins was actually better defensively according to box plus/minus. He’s also added more wins to the Kings on defense than on offense in five of his six NBA seasons.
He’ll never get the shine he deserves as long as he’s stuck on a lottery-bound Kings team, but DeMarcus Cousins is really good. The other nine players on this list are doubtlessly happy they’ve never had to face Playoff Boogie.
Next: Number Five