DeMarcus Cousins Just Delivered One of the Greatest Fantasy Performances Ever
DeMarcus Cousins was voted a starter in this year's NBA All-Star Game for the first time in his career. And damn if he hasn't earned it.
Last night, Cousins posted a stat line so absurd it caught everyone's attention -- including the best player in the world:
Yo @boogiecousins chill out man!! Sheesh!!! Super sick stat line
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 23, 2018
Cousins finished a 132-128 double-overtime New Orleans Pelicans win over the Chicago Bulls with 44 points, 24 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.
In the history of the game, only four other players have ever put up 40-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist triple-double -- Elgin Baylor, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain (who did it six times). The most recent of that bunch was Abdul-Jabbar in 1972 -- yep, 46 years ago.
Peep the highlights from Boogie's big night:
So, how did Cousins' absurd production translate to daily fantasy numbers? His 97.8 fantasy points (8.5 points per every $1,000 in salary based on last night's cost) is the second-greatest performance in FanDuel history (behind his current teammate, Anthony Davis). Below are the top-five single-game fantasy outings in the FanDuel era (2009 to present), including Joel Embiid's historic game from earlier this season:
| Player | Date | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FD Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Davis | 10/26/16 | 50 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 99.5 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 1/22/18 | 44 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 97.8 |
| LeBron James | 2/18/10 | 43 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 96.1 |
| Devin Booker | 3/24/17 | 70 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 95.6 |
| Russell Westbrook | 4/19/17 | 51 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 93.5 |
| Joel Embiid | 11/15/17 | 46 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 93.5 |
And, if we add in every performance since 2001, Boogie's Monday night effort would rank fourth all-time in fantasy production. Coincidentally, his big game came on the 12th anniversary of Kobe Bryant's legendary 81-point game, which checks in at number-two on the all-time list:
| Player | Date | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | FD Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Webber | 1/5/01 | 51 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 100.7 |
| Kobe Bryant | 1/22/06 | 81 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 100.2 |
| Anthony Davis | 10/26/16 | 50 | 15 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 99.5 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 1/22/18 | 44 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 97.8 |
| LeBron James | 2/18/10 | 43 | 13 | 15 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 96.1 |
| Devin Booker | 3/24/17 | 70 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 95.6 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | 12/2/04 | 53 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 95.2 |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 5/6/01 | 44 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 94.2 |
| Tim Duncan | 6/4/03 | 32 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 94.0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 4/19/17 | 51 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 93.5 |
| Joel Embiid | 11/15/17 | 46 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 93.5 |
Maybe even crazier is that this isn't some anomaly for Cousins. After last night, Boogie is also now the first player with three 40-point, 20-rebound games in a single season since Moses Malone in 1981-82. Through 46 games this campaign, Cousins is also averaging career-highs in minutes (36.5 per game), rebounds (12.9), assists (5.2), three-point makes and attempts (2.2-6.2) and steals (1.6), and he's already posted 12 games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Like LeBron said: "Sheesh!!!"
