DeMarcus Cousins suffered another devastating injury this week, as tests on Thursday revealed the Lakers center had torn his ACL in his left knee.
It’s the third major injury suffered by Cousins in the last two years, starting with the ruptured achilles that derailed his tremendous season in New Orleans in January of 2018. After battling back from that injury, which kept him from getting the max deal in free agency he almost assuredly would’ve received if healthy, he played well for the Warriors in their playoff push, only to tear his quad in the first round.
He returned for the Finals and while clearly not the same player, Cousins had flashes of brilliance that helped Golden State to a pair of wins. Now, he is in danger of missing another full year after his knee injury. His coach last season with the Warriors, Steve Kerr, spoke with reporters at Team USA camp in Los Angeles on Thursday and lamented Cousins having to deal with yet another devastating injury, saying he was really hopeful this would be a year for Cousins to be healthy and show what he can still do.
Warriors’ Steve Kerr on DeMarcus Cousins’ knee injury: “I’m devastated for DeMarcus. It’s been a couple of years of hell. I was really hoping this season would be a chance to get healthy. We’re all crushed for him.” pic.twitter.com/qa0BmQhAFJ
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 15, 2019
Kerr then lauded Cousins’ performance in the Warriors two wins in the NBA Finals, noting it wasn’t a coincidence that his two best games in that series were the two games Golden State won.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr salutes DeMarcus Cousins (torn ACL) for his 2019 NBA Finals contributions: “The two games we won, it wasn’t a coincidence he played really well. He helped us immeasurably. He gave us a hell of an effort. He gave us everything he had.” pic.twitter.com/TPdZVbJlol
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 15, 2019
Cousins spoke candidly after returning from his Achilles injury that the mental grind of rehab was the most difficult part, and one has to hope he can keep a somewhat positive outlook as he gets set for another grueling stretch of rehabilitation after he has surgery to repair his torn ACL. Kerr and those in the Warriors organization saw that and how hard he worked to get back twice, which makes Kerr all the more empathetic to see Cousins go through another serious injury.
