DeMarcus Cousins, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, has won a championship in Taiwan's T1 League. Cousins was named MVP after leading the Taiwan Beer Leopards to defeat the Taipei Taishin Mars in a four-game sweep, as the former four-time NBA All-Star averaged 25.3 and 16.5 rebounds in the 2023-24 Taiwan T1 League Finals.
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BREAKING: DeMarcus Cousins was named Finals MVP after leading the Taiwan Beer Leopards to a championship in Taiwan! 🏆
Boogie dropped a DOMINANT 24 PTS & 24 REB in the championship game!
Congratulations, DeMarcus! 👏 pic.twitter.com/rrONHj0RNE
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) June 1, 2024
Former NBA player Dwight Howard, also played for the Taoyuan Leopards otherwise known as Taiwan Beer Leopards. The eight-time NBA All-Star, who won the Most Valuable Import Award when he played in Taiwan during the 2022-23 season, commented on his NBA counterpart's victory.
Boogie just won a 💍 in Taiwan ! Stop playing with us we got Global Influence!
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) June 1, 2024
Howard appeared in 20 games for the Beer Leopards, averaging 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
With this in mind, the former fifth overall pick by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA Draft has found success overseas after following in Howard's footsteps playing internationally. Cousins has played a total of 14 games in Taiwan, averaging 24.0 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks.
Howard, 38, and Cousins, 33, are not done playing their basketball careers. That is to say, Howard has just recently signed a deal with the Taiwan Mustangs for the 2024 season, and he will also be part-owner of both the franchise and the league.
Who you know play in a league that they OWN 😮💨 I am so blessed to have this opportunity we going to change the world ! It’s NBA playoffs too 😎 I’m sending my scouts all over & im doing heavy recruiting this summer! Forget going to Cancún C’MON over to The Asian Tournament &… pic.twitter.com/Hrog9KtNVa
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) May 30, 2024
Howard and Cousins may continue to pave the way for current and former NBA players to play overseas in Asia, as has been done in the past by many greats such as: Tracy McGrady (25.0 ppg in CBA- Qingdao DoubleStar Eagles), Stephon Marbury (19.9 ppg in CBA- Beijing Ducks), and J.R. Smith (34.4 ppg in CBA- Zhejiang Golden Bulls).
Related: The Reason WNBA Stars Like Brittney Griner Play Basketball Overseas? Money
