UK MBB’s Cousins Wins Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Former Kentucky men’s basketball player DeMarcus Cousins was named the recipient of the inaugural Offseason NBA Cares Community Assist Award on Friday in recognition for his numerous community efforts in Alabama, New Orleans, Sacramento and South Africa.
Cousins, who starred at Kentucky during the 2009-10 season and went on to be drafted fifth in the 2010 NBA Draft, is the first winner of the offseason award with the program’s inception in 2001. The award recognizes an NBA player for his exceptional work and its impact from the end of the regular season to the start of the following season.
John Wall, a teammate of Cousins while at Kentucky, won the in-season NBA Cares Community Assist Award in 2016. Another Wildcat and a current New Orleans Pelican teammate of Cousins, Anthony Davis (2012), was a previous nominee of the award as well.
For winning the award, Kaiser Permanente and the NBA will donate $10,000 on Cousins’ behalf to Houston Mayor’s Relief Fund through Dynamo Charities.
“Giving back to those in need is something that has always been a big part of my life,” Cousins said in a release. “The NBA has given me a unique platform that helps me connect with the people I really care about in the community. I am so thankful for this recognition and extremely blessed to have the opportunity to touch people’s lives.”
A native of Mobile, Alabama, Cousins donated money to build an outdoor basketball facility at Figures Park in his hometown. He also put on a pair of free block parties in Mobile and Sacramento, where there was food, music and games for local kids and their families. Fellow former Kentucky players Wall, Davis, Eric Bledsoe and Rajon Rondo, as well as Shaquille O’Neal, helped Cousins put on the block parties.
Cousins hosted basketball camps for more than 300 kids in Sacramento and Birmingham, Alabama. He worked with VSP Global to provide free eye exams for all participants in Sacramento, and he donated backpacks and school supplies in Birmingham.
Over the summer, Cousins participated in the NBA Africa Game and Basketball without Borders. There, he visited orphaned youth at SOS Children’s Village and helped host a Junior NBA Special Olympics Unified Basketball Clinic for local athletes.
Cousins will be presented the award during an on-court ceremony Friday before the Pelicans’ game vs. the Golden State Warriors at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The former Kentucky men’s basketball player is in his eighth season in the NBA. Cousins is a three-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA Second Team member. He opened the 2017-18 season Wednesday with 28 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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Eric Lindsey