New Orleans Pelicans free agent DeMarcus Cousins has long been one of the most talented players in the NBA. Unfortunately, this season he was dealt a crushing injury in the form a torn Achilles, the same injury that befell the likes of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as well as Hall-of-Famer Dominique Wilkins.
Cousins was in the midst of arguably his best season as a pro, so he certainly hopes to be able to return to the court as quickly as possible. In fact, he has stated that his goal is to be ready by training camp, but considering he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, what team he’ll make his return with is anybody’s guess.
Regardless of where free agency leads him, Cousins is focused on getting back to the court as soon as possible.
As such, he reached out to Bryant, as well as others who have dealt with the same injury, via Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
“I’ve talked with Kobe some. I’ve talked to Rudy Gay. Wes Matthews reached out to me, and I planned on reaching out to Dominique Wilkins at some point.”
Kobe has always been open in reaching out to the game’s best players and sharing information with them.
Cousins is obviously much younger than Kobe was when he suffered a torn Achilles, but Bryant surely has plenty to offer in terms of advice in rehabbing and workouts to get back on the floor. It took Kobe around eight months to return to the court following his injury, so at that same rate Cousins could achieve his goal of being ready for training camp.
Where he winds up after free agency will be a story to watch, but Cousins’ road to returning as one of the NBA’s best players will also be a big story and getting advice from players like Kobe could undoubtedly help.
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