Just How Good Will The Millennial Twin Towers Of Cousins And Davis Be?
Predicting the future for the New Orleans Pelicans duo is no harder than looking to the five-greatest big man tandems in NBA history.
Fact: By pairing DeMarcus Cousins with Anthony Davis, the New Orleans Pelicans have assembled the best (on-paper) front court in the NBA. Further, the Pelicans now exist on the same plane as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers — no, not because they are contenders to win a championship this season, but because those are the only three teams with at least two of the top twelve players in the league.
Boogie and The Brow are just hitting their respective primes, with the 26-year-old Cousins averaging 27.8 PPG/10.6 RPG/1.3 BPG, and Davis, just 23, averaging 27.7 PPG/11.9 RPG/2.3 BPG.
Only nine times in the past 30 years has a team featured an All-Star at the Center and Power Forward position: The 1987 Houston Rockets (Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson), 1989 Cavaliers (Brad Daugherty and Larry Nance), 1990 Boston Celtics (Kevin McHale and Robert Parish), 1999 San Antonio Spurs (David Robinson and Tim Duncan), 2011 Sacramento Kings (Chris Webber and Vlade Divac), 2006 Detroit Pistons (Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace), 2007 Jazz (Mehmet Okur Carlos Boozer), 2009 Phoenix Suns (Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire), and 2015 Atlanta Hawks (Al Horford and Paul Millsap).
Of those nine, only five can stake a claim to being better than Cousins and Davis. For now, anyway.
5. 1989 Cleveland Cavaliers
Brad Daugherty — 18.9/9.2/0.5; Larry Nance — 17.2/5.8/2.8
The Daugherty-Nance duo is best remembered for losing to the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs five times in seven years, but for a period of time, it was also considered the best front court in the league. Running the offense through 7' Daugherty, the Cavs relied heavily upon the high-flying athleticism of Nance. Despite his 6'10" frame, Nance only averaged 5.8 rebounds per game, but he made up for his deficiencies on the boards by leading the league in blocked shots. The pair received multiple All-Stars bids, but the performance didn’t come close to matching the the next four tandems.
Advantage: Cousins and Davis
4. 2001 Sacramento Kings
Chris Webber — 27.1/11.1/1.3; Vlade Divac — 12/8.3/1.1
Growing up in the 2000's, there were three teams that scratched the surface of Basketball nirvana — the Lakers, Spurs and Kings. Sacramento is seldom discussed as one of the best teams of that decade, however, in large part due to the lack of championships. Still, that 2001 team was legitimately great, and it was due to the play of Vlade Divac and Chris Webber.
If not for questionable officiating in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, followed shortly thereafter by Webber’s career-altering injury, who knows what heights the duo might have scaled.
Advantage: Cousins and Davis
3. 1990 Boston Celtics
Kevin McHale — 20.9/8.3/1.9; Robert Parish — 15.7/10.1/0.9
For as much credit teammate Larry Bird gets for the Celtics’ success — and rightfully so — Boston wouldn’t have dominated in the 1980s if it weren’t for its own twin towers , Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. McHale’s legacy remains one of the most overlooked in league history; his clutch performances, low-post moves, and passing ability stack up against the greatest power forwards to ever lace ’em up. McHale’s repertoire combined with Parish’ ability to snatch any rebound within range culminated in the most successful PF/C championship tandem in league history.
Advantage: McHale and Parish
2. 1999 San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan — 21.7/11.2/2.5; David Robinson — 15.8/10.4/2.5
The 1999 Spurs are the only team in league history to have rostered two bigs who happened to be two of the top 25 greatest players of all time — at the same time. Unfortunately, Duncan’s prime happened as Robinson was exiting his, but that didn’t stop the duo from snagging two championships in their too brief time together.
Advantage: Robinson and Duncan
1. 1987 Houston Rockets
Akeem Olajuwon — 23.4/11.4/3.4; Ralph Sampson — 15.6/8.7/1.3
In 1986, after upsetting the defending-champion Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the young Houston Rockets seemed destined to run off a slew of championships. The Hakeem Olajuwon (7') and Ralph Sampson (7'4") duo actually spawned the term “Twin Towers.” And though the pair was just 24 and 27 years when they lost to the Celtics in the Finals, a dynasty never materialized after Sampson suffered a knee injury halfway through the following season.
Advantage: Cousins and Davis
Injuries, coaching, roster construction and plain ol’ luck will be major factors in determining just how successful Boogie and The Brow can be together, but it’s undeniable that their talent is collectively as good as any big men pairing in recent NBA history. It’s going to be a treat for basketball fans to watch how it all unfolds in New Orleans.
