Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins’ unlucky injury history has continued. According to a report from The Athletic, Cousins suffered a torn ACL in his knee, the third major injury of his career.
Cousins was working out in Las Vegas when the injury occurred. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the injury.
Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins has suffered a possible knee injury and will undergo further testing today in Los Angeles, league sources tell ESPN. Cousins was working out in Las Vegas on Monday when he had to leave the court, sources said. He signed a one-year deal in July.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 15, 2019
Early reports made it sound like Boogie had perhaps caught a break with a minor injury, but then the Athletic’s Shams Charania dropped the bad news first.
DeMarcus Cousins — a four-time NBA All-Star — will undergo final tests that are expected to confirm the torn ACL diagnosis, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. https://t.co/L04AgnBG1d
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 15, 2019
An unfortunate history
After several productive seasons with the Sacramento Kings, the New Orleans Pelicans acquired Cousins in a trade in 2017. Boogie paired with Anthony Davis to lead the Pelicans into playoff position in 2017-18 when his first major injury occurred. He tore his Achilles tendon toward the end of a game against the Houston Rockets in January 2018.
Because of the injury, Cousins, a four-time All-Star, couldn’t participate in the 2018 playoffs. The Pelicans opted not to re-sign him, and he hooked on with the reigning champion Golden State Warriors. Cousins needed most of last season to recover from the torn Achilles, but was healthy to help the team in the playoffs.
That included a great performance in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, but toward the end of that game, Boogie suffered another injury. This time, he tore his quadriceps muscle, making it back in time for the NBA Finals where the Raptors defeated the Warriors in 6 games.
Cousins signed with the Lakers in the offseason to be part of a super-team, reunited with Davis and joining LeBron James.
That’s when Thursday’s unfortunate news dropped.
DeMarcus Cousins injuries:
Feb. 2018 — Ruptured Achilles
April 2019 — Torn left quad
August 2019 — Torn ACLGotta feel bad for Boogie
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) August 15, 2019
Prayers from around the league
As news hit, players from around the NBA sent their support, both ex-teammates and those who had never played with Cousins. Players relate to the big man from Kentucky, who plays with passion but who has hit a terrible streak of luck.
Praying for my brother @boogiecousins 🙏🏾🏁
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) August 15, 2019
Boogie’s prognosis should become more clear in the next few days. But it’s safe to assume he’ll miss much of the 2019-2020 season, which begins Oct. 22.
