How DeMarcus Cousins Has Transformed Into the Best Center In The NBA

DeMarcus Cousins has gone from a talented young man with temper issues to the best center in the NBA

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“Good things take time to develop. But when they are accomplished, they are considered great accomplishments” – Emanuel Sebastiao.

DeMarcus Cousins has gone from a talented young man with potential, to the NBA’s best center. Here’s how he did it.

How he has become the best center

Let’s start with the obvious: He’s the only center in the NBA averaging at least 20 points a game and 10 rebounds a game. After shooting a combined 71.5 percent from the free throw line this first four seasons, he’s upped that to 80.1 percent this season, an improvement if 8.6 percent. That percentage is the 4th highest among centers with at least three free throw attempts per game.

He’s a monster in the low post. At 6-11 and 270 pounds, he’s unguardable down there. Once he gets position on you, your only hope is to foul. But that doesn’t even bail you out at times, as he can overpower many of his opponents.

Cousins has improved his field goal percentage by cutting down on really bad shots selection, both in the paint and near the 3-pt line. He’s finally figured out how blessed he is physically that he’s going to get to the rim, whether it be on a post up or a drive to the rim.

Cousins’ role on offense has expanded every year, and it’s not just the scoring and rebounding duties that he now holds. He leads all centers in assist percentage, ahead of passing wizards like Marc Gasol and players who play in high ball movement systems like Al Horford.

He’s 5th in total rebounding percentage among centers that have played at least 30 games, trailing rebounding mammoths like Andre Drummond and DeAndre Jordan. And he’s played less minutes than all the guys ahead of him with the exception of Omer Asik.

Cousins has not only improved with his play, but with his attitude as well. Cousins has been known to spazz out on the court after a bad call and have his coach restrain him. But early into the season, the roles were reversed:

The Kings fired Mike Malone back in mid-December, and the Kings haven’t been the same since, as they’ve gone 7-21 since they canned Malone. Even Cousins had a couple of classic Boogie moments himself, such as this one vs the Celtics on New Year’s eve:

But this piece is about Cousins’ evolution as a player.

Cousins is shooting 56.6 percent from less than five feet, which puts him in the same group as other elite close range shooters:

And it’s not just the offensive side Cousins has improved on. Opponents are shooting 53.2 percent at the rim when Cousins is defending the shot at the rim, which is 6.5 percent worse than their regular field goal percentage at the rim, per nbastats.com.

How he can get better

Long 2’s are said to be the shot that players should avoid. There’s many reasons for that, such as they’re almost always contested tightly and that you might as well take a 3 since you’re so far from the basket. These are some of the things Cousins should entirely cut down on. He attempts 25.3 percent of his shots from 16-24 feet, per basketball-reference.com. He’s shooting 34.1 percent from 16-24 feet, the 8th worst mark of any player that has attempted at least 150 shots from that range this season.

Here’s a shot chart to show you how bad he is actually is from that range:

Cousins currently leads the league in fouls per game, at 4.2. He’s fouled out more than any player in the league, and it’s not like he makes smart fouls. Even though he’s matured immensely since he’s come into the league, he still commits stupid fouls, usually out of frustration.

Cousins has much more room to improve. And considering how good he already is — at the age of 24 — the NBA better watch out.

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