Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins made his return from a quad injury in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Cousins only played eight minutes in the Warriors' 118-109 loss, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the moment as he took the floor for the first time ever in an NBA Finals:

Cousins worked his tail off to get back on the court for this very moment. He had never played in the playoffs before this year, but then he suffered a torn quad in just the second game of the postseason against the Los Angeles Clippers. While the initial expectation was that he wouldn't return in these playoffs, he and the Warriors made sure that wasn't the case.

Article Continues Below
More Warriors News
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) passes the ball between Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) in the third quarter at the Chase Center.
NBA rumors: Warriors a ‘team to monitor’ for Giannis’ Bucks teammateMalik Brown ·
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) dribbles the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Chase Center.
Draymond Green claims ‘rich kid’ problem in hoopsZachary Draves ·
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) looks to pass the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) plays defense in the first half during game five of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga’s lab work caught on video ahead of free agencyJackson Stone ·
Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) looks on during the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers in game two of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center with Draymond Green and Thunder's Chet Holmgren in the background
Warriors’ Draymond Green drops Alex Caruso over Chet Holmgren NBA Finals takeJosue Pavon ·
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr talks to guard Brandin Podziemski (2) during the second half.
Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski hilariously shoots down Steve Kerr comparisonsJosh Davis ·
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena.
How Don Nelson will ‘protest’ Luka Doncic trade at award ceremonyMalik Brown ·

Naturally, Cousins was a mixed bag in his limited time back on the court. He had three points, two assists, two steals and zero rebounds. He missed both shots he took but went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. The big man also picked up two fouls and had some issues keeping up with the high energy.

It will be interesting to see how much Steve Kerr plays Cousins moving forward in this series. While his scoring and rebounding could be useful, especially with Kevin Durant out, the Raptors will target his defense and try to exploit that. The Warriors are often at their best when they play small, so the expectation here is DeMarcus Cousins will continue to only play in short bursts, unless he really gets it going offensively.