Why DeMarcus Cousins Is Going To Be The All-NBA First Team Center

It’s been a while since I’ve done a bold prediction article, so I figured this one would do, although I’m not sure it’s really all that bold. I believe that this upcoming season DeMarcus Cousins will be the best center in the NBA and take home All-NBA First Team honors.

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That’s a pretty big deal, if you’re unfamiliar with the All-NBA teams. There’s just three of them, meaning only 15 players make an All-NBA team. Last season Cousins made the All-NBA Second Team, meaning voters determined only Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge (who all received more points overall, although Boogie had more First Team votes than Pau or Aldridge) were better center/forwards.

That means Cousins is already a top-five center in the NBA, but those are four really tough names to surpass. Although in reality Boogie is only competing with the Gasols and Aldridge out of that list–Anthony Davis is going to have the forward/center spot locked down for a long time.

But I believe DeMarcus Cousins can do the same to the center/forward spot (technically they’re separate spots because Davis is listed as a forward first and Cousins is a center first). He’s still not reached his true prime, and he still made the Second Team despite playing just 59 games that season.

That was many voters (and mine, although I don’t yet have an All-NBA ballot) biggest problem with voting for Boogie, and he still made the Second Team. That’s damn impressive, and even more so if you consider the weak supporting cast around Cousins that season.

April 5, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) reacts during the third quarter against the Utah Jazz at Sleep Train Arena. The Jazz defeated the Kings 101-95. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Kings starting lineup was really good last year, but the bench was just awful, which is why Vlade Divac retooled it entirely this offseason. If Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, Kosta Koufos and DeMarcus Cousins are starting, that leaves Darren Collison, Marco Belinelli, Willie Cauley-Stein among other talented young players as Sacramento’s first options off of the bench.

That’s a huge improvement over bringing Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry and Ramon Sessions in to relieve the Kings’ starters, and it’s going to make everybody’s life easier in Sacramento, including Boogie. Being surrounded with talented players means defenses won’t be able to only focus on Cousins, leaving him more room to operate down low and wreak havoc.

One focus Divac clearly had this offseason was bringing in some shooters. Besides merely attempting to raise the Kings’ pathetic three-point shooting numbers from last year, adding players like Belinelli, Duje Dukan, Seth Curry and Caron Butler has another effect–it opens up the paint.

When perimeter defenders can sag off of their defender into the paint, they can help their big men defend too. A great example of this can be found in the 2015 NBA Playoffs, when Steve Kerr simply left Tony Allen open on offense and allowed Andrew Bogut to play free safety rim protector.

This meant Bogut could focus entirely on stopping Memphis’ talented duo of big men, which worked out well as the Grizzlies eventually lost to the Warriors in six games. Until that move by Kerr, the series seemed like it could go either way. After the swap, the Grizzlies just looked defeated.

The Kings didn’t have any players quite as bad as Allen is on offense, but they definitely didn’t have any three-point contest winners like Belinelli coming off of the bench either. Now no matter what part of the rotation is out there with Cousins, he will almost certainly have two or three capable shooters around him, meaning he should find himself with more room then ever before to overpower other teams down low.

Given that Boogie plays a full season (it’s not like viral meningitis is a reoccurring injury concern), it should be the best season of his career. Considering that the players he is battling for that All-NBA First Team spot are all significantly older, they should be slowly falling off as Cousins improves his game and his numbers.

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/5/2015.

Looking at this comparison of the per 100 possessions statistics of the four players who were up for the All-NBA First Team center spot last season, it’s clear right away that the biggest (and maybe only) knocks on Boogie were his high rate of turnovers per 100 at 6.4 and fouls per 100 at six. That was clearly more than the other three, and a big problem Cousins must improve on. But I think he’s capable of that.

There’s a lot of positives to go with that big negative, too. Like leading the group in scoring, rebounding, steals and being second-best in assists and blocks. That’s damn impressive considering his company, and could have potentially been enough to make that First Team if not for the missed games.

Now we’ve already talked about how Boogie’s situation is better than it’s ever been due to roster improvements. He seems to have mended fences with coach George Karl, who despite the drama is still a great coach when working with his team, which he should be now that Cousins and he are at least amicable again.

So it seems logical that DeMarcus Cousins will be primed to have the best season of his career. The thing is, he’s been an amazingly great player even in tough circumstances. This is a guy who averaged 24.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.5 steals per game last season, despite the turmoil and injuries.

He’s going to improve on THAT?! I think if that’s the case, there’s not going to be much real opposition to him claiming that First Team spot in 2016. Here’s a little comparison, to put those numbers in perspective. In the 1999-2000 NBA season, Shaquille O’Neal had a career year.

Let’s compare that to Boogie’s 2015 season, using per 36 minutes stats (because Shaq played a crazy 40 minutes per game):

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/5/2015.

Despite being two years younger, on a laughably worse team than the Lakers (who won a title that season, in case you’d forgotten) and dealing with injuries and coaching changes, Boogie is pretty damn close to Shaq’s numbers. We’ve already covered his turnover and fouling woes, but aside from those things and Shaq’s shot-blocking advantage it’s a pretty close race.

Shaq has a slight scoring edge, but Boogie rebounded better, had more assists per 36 and was much better at stealing the ball than O’Neal and is obviously the better free throw shooter. This is usually where I would say “now I’m not saying Cousins might be the next Shaq”, but that’s actually exactly what I’m saying.

If you compare their fifth seasons in the NBA, when they were both 24 years old, Boogie beats Shaq in points per 36, rebounds per 36, steals per 36 and assists per 36. He may not be as singularly dominating as O’Neal was yet, but Cousins hasn’t yet hit his prime or played with even a playoff caliber team, much less with a legend like Kobe Bryant on a team that was good enough to win three consecutive titles.

So maybe it’s not so bold to claim DeMarcus Cousins will be the best center in the NBA next season.

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