Four-time NBA All Star DeMarcus Cousins and two-time NBA champion Isiah Thomas believe India’s basketball future is waiting for its first true pioneer. In an interaction with Sportstar, the two men said India already has the passion and interest needed for the sport to grow but needed a player capable of inspiring the next generation.
“As a sport, I think there’s a lot of potential. It’s about continuing to grow the game, finding those young talents that want to fall in love with the game and commit to it,” Cousins says.
While the two are part of an NBA initiative that sees greats of the sport travel across the world promoting the sport and the league, Cousins says the current trip is about more than appearances.
“The experience has been great so far,” Cousins said of his time in India. “I’ve really enjoyed the food and the hospitality of the people here. It’s about the product continuing to grow,” he said. “Finding that pioneer that can inspire the next generation. Us coming over here, sharing our knowledge, our experience, our influence — that’s the whole point of this journey,”said Cousins who alongside Thomas will be part of an NBA House this weekend at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
Thomas echoed those sentiments and said he was convinced that the pioneering player already exists somewhere in India. “He or she is somewhere here. We know that,” said Thomas, who had a 14-year playing career with the Detroit Pistons and who has subsequently worked as coach (with the Indiana Pacers) and administrator (with the New York Knicks). “There’s a lot of interest in the game in India. There’s a lot of love for the game and passion. The more people play it, the better they’ll get at it. It’s really just a matter of time.”
Asked what advice he would give young Indian players trying to find their way through the system, Thomas stressed that the game began with simple joy and imagination rather than structure or pressure. “Love what you do,” he said. “If you love it, then you do it.”
Former NBA All Star DeMarcus Cousins said becoming an elite basketball player was about repetition and hard work. | Photo Credit: AP
Former NBA All Star DeMarcus Cousins said becoming an elite basketball player was about repetition and hard work. | Photo Credit: AP
Thomas spoke about the improvised way many children first discover basketball. “You know how you roll up socks into makeshift balls and aim them through a bucket attached to a door? That’s how we all grew up,” he said. “Before you know it, you start dreaming, you have imagination, and then a friend joins you, and another friend joins you. That’s the beauty of the game. It’s about the ball, the basket, and making friends.”
Cousins, meanwhile, admitted that he did not immediately realise he could become elite at the sport.
“It happened pretty late for me,” he said, describing himself as a product of his environment and circumstances growing up.
What eventually shaped him, he explained, was not outside validation but relentless repetition and work.
“The confidence comes from within and from the work that you put in,” Cousins said. “Your confidence should come from your work and the repetition you put into the game. If it’s coming from outside sources, it can also crumble from outside sources. That’s why it’s important to create it from within.”
NBA changes
While the two said the way to introduce children to the sport and the mindset to succeed haven’t changed, they admitted that the NBA had evolved since the eras when the two men played. Cousins, who had a 12-year stint in the NBA between 2010 and 2022 including seven years at the Sacramento Kings, pointed to the increasing emphasis on youth in modern basketball.
“When I came into the league, there were veterans who were 36, 37 years old,” he said. “Now youth is the new wave in sports. You get more athleticism and more years out of the product,” he says.
But Cousins believes something has also been lost with that shift. “When I came in, there was a lot more experience, a lot more knowledge, and more culture in the locker rooms,” he said. “Veterans taught young guys the ways of the land,” he says.
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However, Cousins rejected the idea that individuality and larger than life characters had disappeared entirely from the game. “You’ve got people from all over the world, from different cultures and different backgrounds,” he said. “That’s the beauty of the game. You’re always going to get different characters and personalities,” he added.
Thomas also reflected on how player roles have changed over time, particularly the growing acceptance of specialists in the modern NBA. “Back in the day, you really couldn’t be a specialist and get minutes. You had to play offence and defence. You couldn’t just be a one-way player,” said Thomas, who was once rated by Michael Jordan as the greatest point guard — behind Magic Johnson — he had ever played alongside.
Today, Thomas noted, players can survive by excelling in one narrow skill, but he believes the sport may eventually swing back toward more complete athletes. “These days you could simply be great at shooting from the corner, but as the game continues to grow, I think you’ll get back to seeing more two-way players as opposed to specialists,” he said.
Published on May 08, 2026