Despite the recent struggles the last couple of seasons, the Los Angeles Lakers still remain one of the most idolized franchise in all of sports. Not only have they been fortunate enough to win 16 NBA titles throughout their franchise’s history, but they’ve also had the luxury of having some of the league’s best players of all-time in multiple eras.
When a team is that successful and has had so many top-tier players across the board, having many of the NBA’s top athletes admit that they once rooted for the purple and gold during their childhood days isn’t something that we’re far too disaccustomed from.
In a recent Q&A via Twitter hashtagged #CANTBOXBOOGIE, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins admitted that his favorite team growing up was none other than the Pacific division-rival Lakers:
Favorite team growing up was the Lakers. #CANTBOXBOOGIE https://t.co/9nlCrg7q97
— DeMarcus Cousins (@boogiecousins) July 21, 2016
Seeing that the Lakers have had some of the NBA’s best big men of all-time: Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O’Neal, it doesn’t come as a surprise for one of the best centers in the game today to publicly express that he cheered for a historic franchise that had a combination of the most skilled, successful and dominant big men during the last half decade.
Ironically, however, ‘Boogie’ had indeed been viewed as an option to be the next great Laker big since trade rumors escalated days before the 2015 NBA Draft last summer. And since the two-time All-Star’s ongoing dilemma and displeasure with the Kings and their front office seems like it isn’t going to be resolved anytime soon, expect Cousins’ name to continue to be linked in rumors that’ll land him in Los Angeles this upcoming season.
But as for now, the 25-year-old former Laker fan will focus on the 2016 Summer Olympics as a member of the USA Men’s Basketball Team roster, which officially starts tonight as they host their first exhibition game against Argentina. The Olympics are from August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where Cousins and the rest of the Team USA roster will be looking to capture gold once again for a third straight Olympics.