DeMarcus Cousins vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and DeMarcus Cousins, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Scoring / Stats / Stats Rankings / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

DeMarcus Cousins played 11 years in the NBA, 3 more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played 8. DeMarcus Cousins had the first of his seasons in 2010-11, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had his rookie season in 2018-19. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
DeMarcus Cousins	11	3	2010-11 to 2021-22
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	8	4	2018-19 to 2025-26

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8


Rookie Season
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2010-11	2018-19
Team	Sacramento Kings	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	81	28.5	14.1	2.7	6.0	8.6	2.5	1.0	0.8	3.3	4.1	5.3	12.4	.430	0.0	0.2	.167	3.4	5.0	.687
difference:	+1	+2.0	+3.3	+2.0	+3.9	+5.8	+0.8	+0.2	+0.3	-1.6	-2.0	+1.1	+3.7	+.046	+0.6	+1.5	+.200	+1.5	+2.6	+.113
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	82	26.5	10.8	0.7	2.1	2.8	3.3	1.2	0.5	1.7	2.1	4.2	8.7	.476	0.6	1.7	.367	1.9	2.4	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	6	28.8	13.7	0.7	2.0	2.7	3.2	1.0	0.8	0.8	2.8	4.7	10.0	.467	1.5	3.0	.500	2.8	3.3	.850


Season 2
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2011-12	2019-20
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	64	30.5	18.1	4.1	6.8	11.0	1.6	1.5	1.2	2.7	4.0	7.0	15.6	.448	0.0	0.2	.143	4.1	5.8	.702
difference:	+6	+4.2	+0.9	+3.4	+1.6	+5.1	+1.7	+0.4	+0.5	-0.8	-2.3	+0.2	+1.1	+.023	+1.2	+3.4	+.204		+0.7	+.105
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	70	34.7	19.0	0.7	5.2	5.9	3.3	1.1	0.7	1.9	1.7	6.8	14.5	.471	1.2	3.6	.347	4.1	5.1	.807

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	7	39.9	16.3	0.4	4.9	5.3	4.1	1.0	0.4	2.1	2.4	5.6	12.9	.433	2.0	5.0	.400	3.1	3.3	.957


Season 3
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2012-13	2020-21
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	75	30.5	17.1	3.0	7.0	9.9	2.7	1.4	0.7	3.0	3.6	6.4	13.8	.465	0.1	0.3	.182	4.2	5.6	.738
difference:	+40	+3.2	+6.6	+2.5	+2.8	+5.2	+3.2	+0.6			-1.6	+1.8	+2.3	+.043	+1.9	+4.6	+.236	+1.1	+0.9	+.070
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	35	33.7	23.7	0.5	4.2	4.7	5.9	0.8	0.7	3.0	2.0	8.2	16.1	.508	2.0	4.9	.418	5.3	6.5	.808

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher DeMarcus Cousins nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 3


Season 4
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2013-14	2021-22
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	71	32.4	22.7	3.1	8.6	11.7	2.9	1.5	1.3	3.5	3.8	8.3	16.8	.496	0.0	0.1	.000	6.1	8.4	.726
difference:	+15	+2.3	+1.8	+2.4	+4.3	+6.7	+3.0	+0.2	+0.5	-0.7	-1.3	+0.2	+2.0	+.043	+1.6	+5.2	+.300	+0.2	+1.2	+.084
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	56	34.7	24.5	0.7	4.3	5.0	5.9	1.3	0.8	2.8	2.5	8.5	18.8	.453	1.6	5.3	.300	5.9	7.2	.810

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher DeMarcus Cousins nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 4


Season 5
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2014-15	2022-23
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	59	34.1	24.1	3.1	9.5	12.7	3.6	1.5	1.7	4.3	4.1	8.4	18.1	.467	0.0	0.1	.250	7.2	9.2	.782
difference:	+9	+1.4	+7.3	+2.2	+5.5	+7.9	+1.9	+0.1	+0.7	-1.5	-1.3	+2.0	+2.2	+.043	+0.9	+2.4	+.095	+2.6	+1.7	+.123
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	68	35.5	31.4	0.9	4.0	4.8	5.5	1.6	1.0	2.8	2.8	10.4	20.3	.510	0.9	2.5	.345	9.8	10.9	.905

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher DeMarcus Cousins nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 5


Season 6
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2015-16	2023-24
Team	Sacramento Kings	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	Steals Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder Lost West Conf Semis

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6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	65	34.6	26.9	2.4	9.1	11.5	3.3	1.6	1.4	3.8	3.6	9.2	20.5	.451	1.1	3.2	.333	7.3	10.2	.718
difference:	+10	+0.6	+3.2	+1.5	+4.4	+6.0	+2.9	+0.4	+0.5	-1.6	-1.1	+1.4	+0.7	+.084	+0.2	+0.4	+.020	+0.3	+1.5	+.156
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	75	34.0	30.1	0.9	4.7	5.5	6.2	2.0	0.9	2.2	2.5	10.6	19.8	.535	1.3	3.6	.353	7.6	8.7	.874

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	10	39.9	30.2	0.8	6.4	7.2	6.4	1.3	1.7	2.2	3.1	11.1	22.4	.496	1.6	3.7	.432	6.4	8.1	.790


Season 7
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2016-17	2024-25
Team	Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Cup All-Tournament Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	72	34.2	27.0	2.1	8.9	11.0	4.6	1.4	1.3	3.7	3.9	9.0	19.9	.452	1.8	5.0	.361	7.2	9.3	.772
difference:	+4		+5.7	+1.2	+4.8	+6.0	+1.8	+0.3	+0.3	-1.3	-1.7	+2.3	+1.9	+.067	+0.3	+0.7	+.014	+0.7	+0.5	+.126
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	76	34.2	32.7	0.9	4.1	5.0	6.4	1.7	1.0	2.4	2.2	11.3	21.8	.519	2.1	5.7	.375	7.9	8.8	.898

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	23	37.0	29.9	1.0	4.3	5.3	6.5	1.7	0.9	2.6	2.8	10.1	21.9	.462	1.4	4.9	.283	8.3	9.4	.876


Season 8
	DeMarcus Cousins	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Season	2017-18	2025-26
Team	New Orleans Pelicans	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
DeMarcus Cousins	48	36.2	25.2	2.2	10.7	12.9	5.4	1.6	1.6	5.0	3.8	8.5	18.0	.470	2.2	6.1	.354	6.1	8.2	.746
difference:	+26	+2.6	+7.6	+1.7	+6.5	+8.2	+1.1	+0.1	+0.9	-3.3	-1.9	+2.3	+1.7	+.078		+1.0	+.080	+2.8	+1.9	+.133
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	22	33.6	32.8	0.5	4.2	4.7	6.5	1.5	0.7	1.7	1.9	10.8	19.7	.548	2.2	5.1	.434	8.9	10.1	.879

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher DeMarcus Cousins nor Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played in the postseason in their season 8

Additional Years

* DeMarcus Cousins played 3 seasons more than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 11, from 2019 to 2022—DeMarcus Cousins played in 3 Playoffs.

DeMarcus Cousins vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and DeMarcus Cousins, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years