The 75 greatest players in NBA history, ranked by Player Efficiency Rating (PER)

39.    DeMarcus Cousins-22.03

Three-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins was a force to be reccoded with during the early to mid-part of the 2010s. Although Cousins' career flamed out relatively quickly, he put up monster numbers during his five-year peak. During that time, he posted averages of 25.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks for the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans.

Each of those seasons saw him post a PER over the 23, though his career was permanently derailed after he tore his achiles while a member of the Pelicans. He later signed a discount contract with the then-defending champion Golden State Warriors but failed to make much of an impact.

He then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, only to tear up his ACL before ever playing a game for them. He would bounce around the NBA, playing for four teams in his last two seasons but never reach the level he had in Sacramento or New Orleans.

That is unfortunate because he could have had five more seasons of peak production and made a case for the Hall of Fame. Instead, he didn't play long enough to accumulate big counting stats, though he does rank 38th in career PER, showing just how good he was when healthy.