DeMarcus Cousins and Carmelo Anthony were part of the gold-medal-winning Team USA side at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and it turns out that group was having a blast not just on the court but off it as well. Cousins appeared on the latest episode of the 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast, where he spoke about just how wild things got back then.
“It was like we was on the block,” Cousins said. “Honest. It was cards every night… We was getting lit… We drank every single day.”
Anthony claimed they were responsible drinkers, but Cousins hilariously made it clear they were not. The former explained there was a free open bar there, and they had all the wine in the world in front of them. It was too good an opportunity to pass up.
“I’ve never drank that much in my life,” Cousins added.
Despite all that drinking, Team USA won quite a few games in dominant fashion. They crushed China 119-62 in the opener and then brushed aside Venezuela 113-69. Some closer games would follow against Australia, Serbia, and France, but they won all three to finish the group stage with a perfect 5-0 record.
Team USA then hammered Argentina 105-78 in the quarterfinal to set up a titanic semifinal clash with Spain. The Spaniards battled hard, but ultimately fell 82-76. All that was standing between Team USA and the gold medal after that was Serbia, and they blew them away 96-66 in the final.
The victory gave Anthony his third Olympic gold medal, more than any other male basketball player at the time. He averaged 12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in Rio, and it would be the last time we saw him on the international stage.
As for Cousins, he put up 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. This was the first and last time he participated in the Olympics.
Cousins might have gotten an opportunity to play later on had the injury bug never struck. He tore his Achilles tendon in January 2018 and then his ACL in August 2020. That meant Cousins just wasn’t the same by the time the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (actually held in 2021) came around. Team USA won the gold there as well and then went on to repeat the feat in Paris in 2024. They have now emerged triumphant in the last five Olympic Games.
