“This Guy would be a beast here” said MMA star Urijah Faber about Sacramento Kings All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins. On Friday, Cousins and some of his teammates trained at Faber’s gym in San Diego instead of their normal basketball facility.
The Kings are set to open training camp at the University of California, San Diego on Sept. 28. Kings Athletic trainer Chip Schaefer suggested the players workout with Faber as a fun alternative than their normal basketball conditioning workouts.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee has the ringside scoop of how Cousins spent time kicking his own teammate Eric Moreland, no malice of course:
- “Cousins said the session was helpful. ‘I think it was a great workout,’ he said. ‘It’s two different sports, but there’s similarities between both. ... With fighting, you have a sense of urgency to protect yourself. You don’t want to lose a tooth or get your nose broken. With us, you don’t want to give up a basket or for that matter have a costly turnover.’ Also, teammates can hit each other in MMA without repercussions. In one of the more entertaining drills, Cousins and 6-10 power forward Eric Moreland took turns practicing kicks and holding protective padding to absorb the blows.”
From the Kings Twitter:
💜👑 pic.twitter.com/wc7QrOacWO
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) September 18, 2015Learning MMA from the best! 💪 pic.twitter.com/0fohSZKFCj
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) September 19, 2015