Following an impressive Olympic run and NBA season, DeMarcus Cousins has risen from a No. 14 rank in 2015-16 to No. 12 on Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Players weeks before the new NBA season begins.
Cousins maintained his double-digit rebounding mark while increasing his scoring average by nearly three points per contest between the 2015 and 2016 seasons. By the end of the 2016 campaign, DMC finished fourth in the League in points per game (first among all centers) while sitting fifth overall in rebounds per game.
“Cousins, 26, had a statistical year for the ages last season (27/12/3/1/1), an all-around stat-stuffing that earned him a spot alongside Hakeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the record books,” wrote Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated.
For a complete breakdown of Sports Illustrated’s 1-100 rankings, click here.
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