Another unfortunate injury hit the NBA, as one of the league’s best big men, DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans, has suffered a season-ending Achilles tear — arguably the worst injury in sports.
It was at the last eight seconds of the fourth quarter during Friday night’s meeting with the visiting Houston Rockets. Cousins missed a free throw, and as he hustled for an offensive rebound, his left Achilles gave out without contact.
Would-be 2018 All-Star game teammates LeBron James and Kevin Love showed their support through Twitter.
Before various news outlets confirmed that Cousins will be out for the year, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry spoke to the media, and was visibly devastated.
“Obviously, he’s extremely important to us, so yeah, we’re scared about it.”
“I feel horrible for him. Everything that he’s done and what he’s tried to do this year… the improvements in all areas that he’s made on and off the floor. I don’t want that to happen to a guy that’s trying to better himself.”
The loss of the all-around big man will be an enormous blow to the Pelicans, who are fighting to stay in the Western Conference’s playoff picture. They are 27-21 following the 115-113 win versus the Rockets and currently seeded sixth in the ultra-competitive West.
Cousins has been obliterating the stat sheet this season and was having the best campaign of his pro career, registering 25.4 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game entering Friday.
He already had a triple-double against the Rockets before the incident, and just two games prior, tallied a monster stat line over the Chicago Bulls with 44 points, 23 rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals.