DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins was known for his fiery demeanour over more than a decade in the NBA and there were few players who fired him up more than Australian centre Andrew Bogut.
The pair would trade elbows, bumps and trash talk during their many battles, and one meeting in 2015 finished with Cousins thrown out of the game against Bogut, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
This week, Cousins is in Bogut’s home city as he appears at the NBA House event in Port Melbourne starting on Thursday, and while it’s not known if Cousins and Bogut, who were later teammates at the Warriors, might meet up, the Alabama native was quick to recall their battles.
“It was completely unfair because, as talented as Bogut is, he had that [star-studded Golden State] team behind him so they usually went in his favour,” Cousins recalled.
“But we definitely had some competitive match-ups, some intense ones, a lot of trash talk and a lot of physical play – y’all know Bogut, he’s crazy as hell, and I’m the same way on the court, so there was some good, intense battles but, nonetheless, very fun at the same time.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Bogut for what he brought to the game, to the league and how he represented Australia. He has my ultimate respect.”
Cousins and Atlanta Hawks centre Jock Landale will headline the NBA House events at the Timber Yard in Port Melbourne from May 14-17, with organisers hoping local fans will make the most of NBA play-off viewing parties, music guests and other activities during daytime and nighttime sessions.
Utah Jazz star Jaren Jackson jnr was going to headline the event with Cousins but withdrew on Wednesday following the death of his long-time teammate Brandon Clarke, age 29.
Jackson and Clarke played together for the Memphis Grizzles. The cause of Clarke’s death is yet to be determined.
The NBA also lost another former player, Jason Collins, 47, from brain cancer.
In 2013, Collins became the first active athlete in any of the US’ four major sporting leagues to come out as gay and Cousins paid tribute to both players after arriving in Melbourne on Wednesday.
“Coming into the NBA as a young player, I got to play against Collins – he was definitely a bruiser and he’s one of the guys who welcomed me to the league,” Cousins recalled on Wednesday.
“I spent some time with his [twin] brother Jarron in Golden State as he was one of my coaches there. It’s very unfortunate.
“Brandon Clarke is a younger guy than me. I didn’t have much of a relationship with him, but he’s part of the NBA family and I wish those guys’ families and friends my condolences and am praying for them.”
Cousins was at a similar NBA House event in New Delhi, India last week and impressed the locals and former Australian cricketer and Kolkata KR assistant coach Shane Watson with his cricketing skills.
He also visited the MCG this week and was blown away by the size of the stadium – he hopes to get to an AFL match before he heads home.
“I got to get to a game at that crazy stadium,” Cousins exclaimed on Wednesday
“Just walking out on that empty stadium gave me chills. To hear what a crowd would be like there would be unbelievable.”
Cousins has travelled the world since his NBA career finished in 2022, playing short stints in Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Mongolia, including winning a title with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in 2024.
He had NBL and Euro League clubs chasing him too, but he turned them down.
He could afford to be selective, though. He made around US$94 million (AUD $130m), before tax, during his NBA years.
“Once I left the NBA, I hit a certain point in my personal life where, a lot of times, it came down to me picking where I played based on my own convenience,” Cousins said.
“The length of schedule, travel schedule and things of that nature, so a lot of opportunities I turned down because it wasn’t suitable for my personal life.
“But I’m a huge fan of the league, and I watch from afar. It’s a good soap opera on top of good basketball.”
Cousins played with Bryce Cotton when he was in Puerto Rico, and he’s also friends with former NBL import (and ex-NBA big man) Montrezl Harrell, so those connections resulted in him following the “soap opera” of the NBL via social media.
“It drew me more into the league,” Cousins said.
“They will pop up on my social media feed. I’ve got a lot of friends playing over there, and I remember there was a little back and forth between Kendric Davis and Montrezl, there is always something, and I’m like, ‘Man, this is kind of entertaining’, and, on top of that, it’s really high-level basketball.”
Cousins spoke from India, where he headlined an NBA House event in Delhi, and he admits, since leaving the NBA, he’s been surprised how widespread NBA fans are.
“We were walking in an airport, I think it was Hong Kong, and a random person walked by and is like ‘DeMarcus, what are you doing here?’,” Cousins said with a laugh.
“It put things in perspective for me. I’m known throughout the world in places where you wouldn’t think I would be a thing – literally everywhere I’ve been, there has been a fan base.”
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