Nearly one year after shocking the world by signing with the Golden State Warriors, DeMarcus Cousins rose to the occasion in the biggest moment of his career during Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Cousins scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out six assists with two blocks in 27 minutes. He was +12 in a five point Warriors win.

In just his second game since tearing his left quad in the first round, Cousins stepped up when the team needed him the most, especially as Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney both exited with injuries.

Cousins’ playmaking helped spark the Warriors’ 18-0 run at the start of the third. His physicality and energy gave the Warriors a vital boost when trying to take control of the game.

Given his journey—from playing on poor Sacramento Kings teams to suffering significant lower leg injuries in the past two seasons—his Game 2 production was truly special, a testament to his perseverance and desire to be great.

Cousins’ decision to join the back-to-back champs, though unpopular, allowed him to fully rehab his torn Achilles while providing him with the opportunity to reach the postseason for the first time in his career.

The big man played his first game in January, steadily getting in shape over the next few months leading up to the playoffs.

On April 13th, Cousins played in his first postseason game. Two days later, he sustained a quadriceps injury just three minutes into Game 2 of the opening round.

After working so hard to return from one major injury, enduring another after getting his first taste of playoff basketball was a devastating setback for Cousins, an obstacle that could have broken him as a man and a player.

And yet, he just got back in the gym and got himself ready in case Golden State made a run that was deep enough to give him sufficient time to rehab.

Cousins wasn’t just thrown into the deep end of the pool; he had to dive into the ocean.

Struggling in Game 1, there were rumblings on social media and the talk shows about his value, about whether or not he was even worth considering as an option in this series.

But after that loss, according to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami, Cousins texted his teammates asking them to trust him in the biggest game of the season.

Steve Kerr did, starting the big man and it paid off.

As the Warriors continue to lose healthy bodies, Cousins produced more and more.

Perhaps his most impressive feat was playing 27 minutes, even as the Warriors picked up the pace at the start of the third quarter. Despite being out of action so long, he powered through any fatigue in order to get the win.

With Looney out for the rest of the series, Cousins is going to have to replicate his performance. The Warriors will need him to rebound and pass at a high level.

And as Thompson deals with his hamstring issues and Kevin Durant continues to rehab, it’s imperative that Cousins provides some scoring, knocking down open shots off the pick and pop and second chance points.

After eight years, Cousins made his presence felt in the playoffs and it came at the most pivotal point (thus far) of the NBA Finals.

Given all of the obstacles and adversity he’s had to endure, that moment is one of the great NBA stories that he has an opportunity to build on even more.