An undersized – for the NBA – center who relied on hustle,
Cowens was one of the most respected players of the 1970s.
He was a rookie of the year, MVP, three-time All-NBA player
and two-time NBA champion. He played for the Celtics, meaning he won a lot of
games. With all of that, I expected him to finish higher in my rankings, but he
is another player whose advanced statistics don’t match his reputation.
The 6-9 Cowens was a solid scorer, averaging between 16.4
and 20.5 points per game the first nine years of his career, and a phenomenal
rebounder, averaging 13.9 rebounds or more per game the first eight. Cowens
wasn’t the most efficient of scorers though. His shooting percentage for his
career was just 46 percent. Because of this, Cowens never had a PER above 20.0,
which drove down his scores.
Cowens also famously had some motivational issues. In
1976-1977, he took a 65-day leave of absence because of burnout. In 1978-1979,
he took a shot at being player coach, didn’t like the coaching part but then
also didn’t like the new coach, Bill Fitch, or struggling through foot injuries
so he retired during the 1980-1981 preseason at the age of 32. He then
un-retired in 1982-1983 to play for the Milwaukee Bucks. Former teammate Don
Nelson was coaching Milwaukee and thought Cowens could give him a frontline
that could compete with the 76ers and Celtics. Cowens never approached his
prior level and injured his leg after 40 games and missed the playoffs.
The two seasons he sat out deprived him of valuable career points, which kept him from moving into the 60s in these rankings.
The two seasons he sat out deprived him of valuable career points, which kept him from moving into the 60s in these rankings.
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Dave
Cowens bio info
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Career
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1970-1983
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Games
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766
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Points
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17.6
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Rebounds
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13.6
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Assists
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3.8
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FG Pct.
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46.0%
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All-Star Games
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8
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MVPs
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1
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ABA titles
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2
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Playoff seasons
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7
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Playoff games
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89
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Points
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18.9
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Rebounds
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14.4
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Assists
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3.7
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FG Pct.
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45.1%
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Hall of Fame
|
1991
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Top 100
rankings
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||
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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315.38
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59th
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5-year
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1,404.85
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55th
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10-year
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2,177.44
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83rd
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Career
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2,265.05
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Not in top 100
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Dave Cowens
at his peak
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|||
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1975-1976
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Cowens
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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18.9
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25.49
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Win Shares
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10.7
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15.04
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Box +/-
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5.0
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8.02
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VORP
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5.5
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7.644
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Total Advanced Stats
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40.1
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56.20
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71.36
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Playoff PER
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18.9
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25.36
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Win Shares
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2.7
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2.55
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Box +/-
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6.3
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7.69
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VORP
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1.6
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1.26
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Total Advanced Stats
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29.5
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36.86
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80.04
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Reg. Season Win %
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66.67
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66.67
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Playoff Win %
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66.67
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78.57
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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378/925
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30.65
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score
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315.38
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Cowens’ 10 greatest seasons
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1975-1976
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315.38
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1972-1973
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312.50
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1974-1975
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283.13
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1973-1974
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261.13
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1971-1972
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232.72
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1979-1980
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232.66
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1976-1977
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216.66
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1977-1978
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121.47
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1970-1971
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106.36
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1982-1983
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95.44
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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485
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281
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63.32%
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Playoffs
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52
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37
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58.43%
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