DeMarcus Cousins ranks himself behind Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.
DeMarcus Cousins, the 32-year-old who has not played for an NBA team this season, has a bone to pick with his former team. Specifically, the Denver Nuggets' two-time MVP center Nikola Jokic.
In the KG Certified interview with Kevin Garnett on SHOWTIME Basketball aired Tuesday, Cousins made quite a bold claim.
"Right now, I'm third best in the league," the team-less Cousins told Garnett, after asking him about the current state of the NBA.
Apparently, he's just behind MVP contenders Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.
So why is Boogie not in any team at all?
"I don't know, the game is just in a different place," Cousins said. "The energy was way different."
"The foundation of it is completely gone. The competitive nature is completely gone. Just wanting to outdo the next guy in front of you, I think that whole dynamic is completely gone. No competitive juices no more."
How different is the landscape today?
The four-time NBA All-Star, who got four ten-day contracts with the Nuggets in 2022 before signing up for the remainder of the season, explains it's about the things being said outside the court.
"Like I don't want to upset the next guy. Or if you say the wrong thing, it's held against you for the next 10 years. It's just weird," said Cousins, a player who has faced a domestic violence charge for allegedly threating to shoot an ex-girlfriend. Those charges were dropped.
But while he acknowledges that Jokic, who is averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists, could be hailed the "best center of all time," Cousins is drawing the line against getting three MVP plums in a row.
"It then becomes a conversation of 'Is this the best basketball player to ever touch a basketball?' And I think we can all agree on that and say it's not," Cousins declared.
"He hasn't won anything. He hasn't been to a final."
The Denver Nuggets finished the regular season as the top seed in the West with a 53-29 record.
Oh, and Cousins isn't too impressed that Jokic has averaged a triple-double at some point. He says Russell Westbrook did it awhile back too.
"So why are we now glorifying it?" He asked.
His bet for the MVP plum this year? 76ers' Joel Embiid.
"Let this young guy get his flowers, man."