Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins has had a brutal last two seasons. He has faced two serious injuries in the time span, tearing his left Achilles and tearing his quadricep most recently. Now, Cousins is coming off the bench for the Warriors as they pursue their fourth championship in five years. Besides the obvious goal of lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy, Cousins is out to prove he is a team player and shed the negative reputation that he is a stat-padder. In an interview with Michael Lee of The Athletic, Cousin's vehemently denied being a ‘score first' player:

“I’ve never been a bottom feeder guy, playing this game. I’ve suffered through that enough. This is where I want to be. I got this label to be score first, only worried about stats. That’s bullshit. I’ve never been that type of player. I’ve played with talent my entire life and shared the floor and been happy for the next guy. I’ve played with John Wall. Cheer for him every day. Eric Bledsoe. Cheer for him every day. This isn’t my first time. So for me to even receive that type of label, I mean, I’ve had to accept it, it is what it is. But that’s not who I am. I’ve never been that type of player.”

It's obviously not a good look to be considered someone who cares more about his own stats than his teams play. Cousins has shown that he is willing to take a smaller role in Golden State's offense, and it looked like he would be a solid fit before tearing his quadricep.

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Now, Cousins will have to prove again that he can still be an impact player after two major injuries. He will look to become a force off the bench for the Warriors and win his first championship.