When it was reported on August 15 that Los Angeles Lakers center Demarcus Cousins tore his ACL, NBA and Lakers fans were stunned in disbelief. Well, seeing is believing.
New video footage released by TMZ Sports shows the incident in real-time, putting Laker fans’ nightmares into a visual reality.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfyrQyud9Jw]
The video shows Boogie dribbling down the court and driving for a layup before shouting in pain and collapsing on the court. The play contained little to no contact, a tell-tell sign of a severe injury. It even seems that the players around him knew it the second he hit the floor, with the player on the far left of the video in the white t-shirt putting his hands against his head in disbelief and concern.
The injury took place in Las Vegas on August 12, where Cousins was working out in preparation for the upcoming NBA season. There is no timetable for his return, although Cousins will most likely miss most, if not all, of the 2019-2020 season.
The big man’s injury will be a tough loss for the Lakers, who signed Cousins to a one-year deal for a $3.5 million contract this offseason with the hopes of him joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the court. He and Davis were expected to play in the frontcourt together, providing the Lakers with two of the most versatile rebounders in the league.
This is not the first time Cousins suffered a significant injury. He tore his Achilles in January 2018 back when he was with the New Orleans Pelicans, undergoing season-ending surgery later that month. He left the Pelicans in the summer of 2018 to sign with Golden State for $5.3 million, but missed most of the new season. He returned for the playoffs, but was forced to sit out again after tearing a quad muscle.
Cousins averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and shot 48 percent from the field during the 2018-2019 season with the Golden State Warriors.
