DeMarcus Cousins

Patiently navigating through the early stages of an intriguing-yet-rocky rebuild, the Sacramento Kings decided that on March 2, 2011, the new on-court regime would be accompanied by a fresh arena name: the Power Balance Pavillion. Unfriendly to his visitors on the celebratory night, DeMarcus Cousins, fittingly, used a powerful dribble to leave the Portland Trail Blazers entirely unbalanced. Sporting his trademark scowl and a goal of supercharging Sacramento’s comeback hopes, Cousins wrestles into the rebounding fray before outracing LaMarcus Aldridge for a loose ball after the attempt bounces long. Promptly challenged by another Marcus-style battle moments later against 2006-07 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby, Cousins evades the final boss with a deceptive right-to-left crossover before soaring into a passionate two-handed flush, trimming Portland’s late lead to one. Scoring eight consecutive points on one occasion, Cousins’ soon-to-be-documented takeover ability was in full effect. The eventual four-time All-Star impressed in defeat, depositing 28 points — one of two Kings bench players to score 25-plus — on 10-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds, four assists, and one block. Offensively crafty enough to evade a “rookie wall” of any kind, Cousins propelled the game to a third-place finish in the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year race.

Rookie Year