2. Veteran leadership
Perhaps one of the most underrated things about Boogie is how he’s matured over the years. Boogie was a bit of a volatile player earlier in his career, which is probably an understatement, but has toned it down immensely.
Through his first three years in the league, DMC had five flagrant fouls and seven ejections, as he was seemingly unable to control himself. However, over the last six years he’s had just three flagrant fouls and seven ejections all in all.
Think about that. In twice the number of seasons, Boogie has actually had less flagrant fouls and the same number of ejections as he had during his first three seasons.
Boogie was constantly berating officials and had to be held back by teammates on numerous occasions early on in his career, however he became the peacemaker in Golden State. During the infamous fight between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant last season, Cousins was actually the one player who was holding Draymond back and telling him to lock in.
This goes to show the level of maturity and veteran leadership Cousins has gained over the years. Boogie has been in the league for nine years and recently went from the franchise player in Sacramento to one of the star players on the team in New Orleans, which shows how he’s been able to adapt and adjust roles.
This was especially the case in Golden State, as they were loaded with four future Hall of Famers in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, KD, and Draymond Green. In spite of that, he was able to carve out a role and find a way to still contribute, which should be more than encouraging for the Houston Rockets.
We also know that Cousins would surely be wanting to make it work in Houston, as he’d be eager to get back to the NBA Finals after tasting defeat last season with the Warriors. On top of that, DMC would certainly be motivated to get past the Lakers considering how they just released him in spite of his comeback being almost complete.
Next: No. 1