In case you missed the news, the Golden State Warriors have a new center. You may have heard of him. His name is DeMarcus Cousins, and he’s a four-time All-Star who averaged a cool 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game last year.
And he’s also rehabbing from a horrendous injury: a torn Achilles.
So, what can the Warriors expect from their new star center? Let’s take a look, so you can set your expectations accordingly.
Boogie’s timeline
Ever since suffering the non-contact injury during a game in January, the timeline for Cousins has been set at this coming winter. All along, we’ve heard that December of 2018, or January of 2019 is when we should plan on seeing Cousins back on the court.
But don’t tell Cousins that. After signing with Golden State, he noted that he believes he can be back in time for training camp.
New Warriors big man DeMarcus Cousins to The Undefeated on his return from Achilles injury: "I'm still shooting for training camp. It's not BS. It wasn't a comment just to sound good in free agency."
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 3, 2018
I wouldn’t count on that being the case, but it sure would be great.
What is the history of Achilles injuries?
Achilles injuries are rather rare in the NBA; they don’t come around very often at all. And while the history of players recovering from them isn’t great, that’s largely because most players who suffer Achilles injuries are already nearing the end of their career. At just 28, Cousins is one of the younger players in modern NBA history to suffer this injury.
For more about the history of how NBA players returned following a torn Achilles, check out this history that SB Nation put together.
All things considered, we’re unlikely to see Cousins make his Warriors debut until about halfway through the season. And once he does return, he probably won’t be the same Boogie that dominated opposing defenses and earned a nod as an All-Star starter.
But he’ll likely still be very, very good.