DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Taiwan Beer Leopards of the T1 League.

Cousins first committed to Alabama-Birmingham on February 28, 2008, but never signed a letter of intent.

He was a first-team Parade All-American in 2009 and played in the 2009 McDonald's All-American Boys Game, finishing with 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Cousins also played in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland and the Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden where he scored 10 points for the black team.

He led LeFlore to the Alabama class 6A Final Four, falling short in the semifinal game to future college teammate Eric Bledsoe and Parker High School.

Cousins decommitted from UAB and committed to Memphis on March 9, 2009.

He reopened his recruitment after then Memphis coach John Calipari was hired at Kentucky.

On April 7, 2009, Cousins decided to follow John Calipari to Kentucky.

He signed his letter of intent on April 15.

At Kentucky, Cousins averaged 15.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, where he was an All-American in 2010.

He left Kentucky after one season, and was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Sacramento Kings.

Led by Cousins and John Wall, the Wildcats reached the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

On April 7, 2010, Cousins announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA draft, where he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fifth overall pick.

On July 7, 2010, Cousins signed his rookie contract with the Kings, worth about $7 million for the first two years with a team option for the third and fourth years.

Cousins was named the Rookie of the Month for July during the NBA Summer League.

Cousins was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team at the end of the 2010–11 season.

On January 1, 2012, head coach Paul Westphal sent Cousins home from the Kings' home game against the New Orleans Hornets, saying that Cousins was "unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team; it cannot be ignored indefinitely."

Cousins, who had been averaging 13.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game at the time of the dismissal, reportedly demanded to be traded from the Kings.

Cousins later denied asking to be traded.

On January 5, 2012, Westphal was fired from the Kings, leading many to speculate that the head coach's tumultuous relationship with Cousins was a factor in his being replaced.

On February 8, 2012, Cousins was selected to play in the Rising Stars Challenge.

He played for Team Chuck, with a mix of rookies and sophomores.

On November 11, 2012, the league suspended Cousins for two games without pay for confronting San Antonio Spurs color commentator Sean Elliott "in a hostile manner" after he criticized Cousins for attempting to bully Tim Duncan on the court.

Cousins was apparently informed of Elliott's remarks after the game.

He left the locker room and waited on the court for Elliott to finish his post-game show before confronting him.

Some criticized the suspension as overly harsh and based more on Cousins' reputation than what actually happened, while others said he needed to grow up and learn a lesson about confronting the media.

On December 22, 2012, Cousins was suspended indefinitely from the Kings, who accused him of "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team".

The suspension was lifted on December 24, 2012.

The season was up-and-down for Cousins, who posted career-highs in Player Efficiency Rating, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage, but led the NBA with 16 technical fouls, was ejected several times and suspended by both the league and the Kings.

On September 30, 2013, Cousins signed a reported four-year, $62 million contract extension with the Kings.

After signing the contract, Cousins announced he would donate $1 million of his salary to the families and community of Sacramento.

He opened the season with a 30-point, 14-rebound performance against the Denver Nuggets.

He is also a two-time gold medal winner as a member of the United States national team, winning his first in 2014 at the FIBA Basketball World Cup and his second in 2016 at the Rio Olympics.

Cousins attended LeFlore Magnet High School.

Cousins apologized to Elliott in person before a game against the Spurs in March 2014, which Elliott said he appreciated.

On February 26, 2014, Cousins received a one-game suspension for punching Patrick Beverley in the stomach.

On March 11, Cousins recorded a career-high 6 blocks, along with 13 points and 14 rebounds, in an 89–99 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

After averaging career-highs of 23.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks over the first 15 games of the season, Cousins was diagnosed with viral meningitis on December 7, 2014.

In his first season with the Kings, Cousins was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and from 2015 to 2018, he was named an NBA All-Star four times.