DeMarcus Cousins believes the 2017-2018 Pelicans would've won it all if he stayed healthy: 'Everyone on that roster knew there was something brewing'

Former NBA superstar DeMarcus Cousins believes that he would've won a title with the New Orleans Pelicans if only he hadn't suffered a brutal Achilles injury. In his latest appearance on the "Knuckleheads Podcast" "Boogie" reminisced about what made the '18-'19 Pelicans team so special to the point that everyone on the roster felt they could've won a championship.

"Just the combination of those guys. It was perfect. Then, obviously, AD was as great as he and I were in my moment as well. It was the perfect mixture of guys, but it sucked that it was short-lived. Everyone on that roster knew there was something brewing. It was almost like we were the bad news bears because it wasn't supposed to work," Cousins said.

The team that got away

Cousins isn't the only one who feels that the Pelicans team would've won the championship had he not gotten hurt. Even Anthony Davis, the top superstar on that squad, once admitted that he often thinks about what would've happened had they had a healthy run in the postseason. Same goes with Rajon Rondo who believes that the Pels would've defeated the Golden State Warriors in 2018 if Cousins suited up.

Perhaps the reason why this trio believed in that team so much was because of the style of basketball they played. The four-time All-Star said that head coach Alvin Gentry gave them so much freedom in the system that everyone in the lineup was empowered to contribute on the team. On top of that, Boogie felt that he and AD were two of the best front court duos at that time supported by two brilliant back court mates in Rondo and Jrue Holiday.

"Every night, we knew the paint was on lock. That was never our concern. It was hard enough to deal with us individually. Us as teammates, we knew nobody could match us," Cousins stated.

How good was that Pelicans team before Boogie got hurt?

The thing about that Pelicans squad with Cousins and Davis leading the way was that they were at the primes of their career. With the skillset of Davis, a brilliant defender and unicorn type of offensive player, the two-time All-NBA awardee felt he was slotted in a perfect role where he played the easiest basketball of his life, similar to his time with the Golden State Warriors.

Before getting hurt, "Boogie" averaged 25.2 points and 12.9 rebounds in 48 games. Add that alongside Davis' 28.1 points and 11.1 rebounds, the Pelicans were rolling. The team ended up having the 10th-best offense in the league by the time the regular season ended, as well as the 14th-best defense. They played with the third fastest pace at that time and averaged 111.7 points per game which ranked as the third best in the league.

Unfortunately, like what Cousins said, this core only spent less than a year together before they all went their separate ways. Their memories were short lived and sadly, the '18-'19 Pelicans team will always be one of the biggest "what ifs" in NBA history.