David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. He was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens won NBA championships as a member of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Throughout his career Cowens was known for being an undersized center, however he made up for his height with hustle and athleticism. Cowens has also held coaching positions in the NBA, CBA, and WNBA.
Cowens was named a member of both the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Early life David William Cowens was born on October 25, 1948, in Newport, Kentucky, one of six children of Jack and Ruth Cowens. His father was a World War II veteran, and later worked as a barber and Ruth served as a stay-at-home mother to David and his siblings. His family lived in a modest two-story home on Lexington Avenue in East Newport, with his extended relatives such as his grandparents and a great-aunt.
Growing up Cowens spent his time fishing in the Ohio River, adventuring into Cincinnati by hopping freight trains, often self-funding trips via odd jobs. He attended St. Anthony's School in Bellevue, at the age of eight he began playing organized basketball joining an organized basketball team practicing in the church basement gym, he also participated in many other sports growing up such as baseball, track and field, football, and swimming.
He later attended Newport Catholic High School, and during his freshman year he had a conflict with the basketball coach and quit the team and turned to swimming and track and field. Cowens initially didn’t have any thoughts of returning to basketball until he had a five-inch growth spurt between his sophomore and junior years. He went on to play his junior and senior years and excelled in the sport.
College career
Coming out of high school Cowens was mainly recruited from schools in the Ohio Valley Conference along with the University of Kentucky and Florida State University. However his high school coach later recommended Florida State University, and head coach Hugh Durham later promised him a starting role by his sophomore year while emphasizing resulting in Cowens committing to Florida State.
Cowens attended Florida State University. He played from 1967 to 1970 for coach Hugh Durham. During his sophomore year Cowens made an immediate impact averaging 18.8 points per game and 16.8 rebounds per game. His best year came during his junior year where averaged 20+ points a games and 17.5 rebounds. During his senior year he averaged 17 points and rebounds a game.
Cowens is often considered one of the best players in Florida State history. He scored 1,479 points in 78 games at Florida State, at 19.0 points per game, and ranks among Florida State's top 10 all-time scoring leaders. Cowens is the all-time Florida State leading rebounder with 1,340 rebounds (17.2 rebounds per game). He holds the team record for best seasonal rebound average (17.5 in the 1968–1969 season). He once grabbed 31 rebounds (second-best all-time) against LSU in the 1968–69 season, and also had a record 456 in one season.
Cowens was named to The Sporting News All-America second team in 1970. His number hangs in the rafters of the Donald L. Tucker Center.
Professional career Boston Celtics (1970–1980) Cowens was selected as the fourth overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 1970 NBA draft. Former Celtics center Bill Russell's recommendation of Cowens influenced the selection. While some critics believed that Cowens was too small to play center, Russell said: "No one is going to tell that kid he can't play center". Jim Loscutoff had declined to have his No. 18 jersey number retired by the Celtics, instead choosing to allow other players to wear the number. This allowed Cowens to wear No. 18 as well.
During his rookie year, Cowens appeared in 81 games playing around 38 minutes a game for the Celtics. He made an immediate impact and averaged 17.0 points per game and 15.0 rebounds per game which was the most ever by a first-year Celtics player besides Bill Russell. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and shared the NBA's Rookie of the Year honors with Portland's Geoff Petrie. He also led the league in personal fouls that same year with 350. Despite his play the Celtics missed the postseason for the first time since 1950.
During his second year in the 1971-72 season Cowens appeared in 79 games and began playing 40 minutes a game. His numbers went up slightly from his rookie year (averaging 18.8 PPG, 15.2 RPG and 3.1 APG) and he was selected to his first All-Star game. That year Cowens helped the Celtics claim the best record in the Eastern Conference and averaged 15.5 PPG and 13.8 RPG in the 11 game playoff run, the first of his career. He and the Celtics were defeated in the conference semifinals by the New York Knicks 4-1. In the 1972–73 season, Cowens appeared in all 82 games for the only time in his career, playing 40+ minutes a game. He went on to average a career high 20.5 PPG, a career high 16.2 RPG (third that year only behind Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond) along with 4.1 APG while helping the Celtics to a league-best 68–14 record. In that season also, Cowens scored 20 points, grabbed a career-high 32 rebounds and dished out 9 assists in a home win over the Houston Rockets. He also had 29 rebounds in a game vs. the Baltimore Bullets on January 7 of that year. He carried the Celtics to the semifinals, where they met the New York Knicks. They won Game 1 of that best-of-7 series after Cowens recorded 15 points and 18 rebounds. However, they bowed out to the Knicks in Game 7 following injuries to John Havlicek. He put up postseason highs in 13 games with 21.9 PPG and 16.6 RPG.
For his efforts Cowens was chosen as the 1973 NBA MVP, beating out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Cowens later told HOOP magazine in 1992: "Being named the MVP by my peers meant a lot to me, I was always out to gain the respect of the players, they are the only ones who understand your work habits." Cowens was also named MVP of the All-Star Game that same season, scoring 15 points and pulling down 13 rebounds during the contest. Cowens and fellow Celtic Bill Russell both have the distinction of being named MVP of the league but not being included on the All-NBA First Team. However, Cowens was named to his first All-NBA Second Team.
The following season, Cowens played in 80 games and played a career high 41.9 MPG, he averaged 19.0 PPG, 15.7 RPG, 4.4 APG and a career high 1.3 BPG while guiding the Celtics to a record of 56–26. During the year he also achieved his first of six career triple doubles on November 25, 1973 vs. Cleveland where he scored 21 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists. He set multiple Celtics single season records, including total defensive rebounds with 993, defensive rebounds per game with 12.4, and a 90.6 defensive rating. He was also selected to his third straight All-Star Game. Cowens was instrumental in bringing the Celtics into the playoffs, where they defeated the Buffalo Braves in six games and the New York Knicks in five. In the finals, the Celtics faced the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The teams split the first six games, with each team winning at least once on their home court. This led to a decisive Game 7, where the Celtics faced the Bucks in Milwaukee. The Celtics prevailed thanks to a strong performance by Cowens, who recorded 28 points and 14 rebounds as the Celtics took their 12th NBA championship. During the postseason run Cowens averaged 20.5 PPG and 13.3 RPG.
Prior to the 1974-75 season Cowens broke his foot in a preseason match up and didn’t play in his first game until November 21, 1974 vs. the Phoenix Suns. Cowens went on to play 65 games that year following his return, and continued with his strong play averaging 20.4 PPG, 14.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.1 BPG and a career high 1.3 steals per game. That year Cowens also finished behind Wes Unseld for the league’s rebounding title. For his defensive efforts Cowens was selected to his first NBA All-Defensive Second Team, appeared in his fourth straight All-Star game, and was selected to his second All-NBA Second Team. That year Cowens helped lead the Celtics to a 60-22 record and they beat the Houston Rockets 4-1 in the conference semifinals, as he averaged 20.5 PPG, 16.5 RPG, and 4.2 APG. Despite this, he and the Celtics lost in the conference finals 4-2 to the Washington Bullets.
The next season in 1975-76 Cowens played in 78 games for the Celtics averaging just under 40 minutes a game. During a game on January 16, 1976 vs. the Philadelphia 76ers Cowens scored a career high 39 points in a Celtics 118-110 win. As for the rest of the season Cowens averaged 19.0 PPG, 16.0 RPG and 4.2 APG. Defensively he recorded 1.2 blocks and 0.9 steals per game and was named to his first and only NBA All-Defensive First Team. Additionally, he was named to his third and final All-NBA Second Team. That year he and the Celtics finished with the best record in the East, and the Celtics took down both Buffalo and Cleveland 4-2 to reach the 1976 NBA Finals vs. the Phoenix Suns. Cowens played a pivotal role during the team’s postseason run averaging 21.0 PPG 16.4 RPG and 4.6 APG. The Celtics were up 3-2 heading into game 6 of the Finals and Cowens played a key role in the deciding game making multiple defensive plays and picking up the slack for fellow star players Jo Jo White and an injured John Havlicek to secure his second and final NBA championship. During the Finals, CBS commentator and still-active NBA player Rick Barry stated "There is no player with greater desire than Dave Cowens."
Eight games into the 1976–77 season on November 10, 1976, and with the Celtics on a four-game losing streak, Cowens left the team for "undisclosed reasons". Speculations included that Cowens was upset that the team didn't offer Paul Silas a new contract after the previous season and traded him to the Denver Nuggets. Other speculations were that he was unhappy with coach Tom Heinsohn and also his involvement in a lawsuit from the previous season where he allegedly struck a fan during a game against the Houston Rockets. Cowens returned to the team in January 1977 and played 50 total games throughout the year scoring 16.4 PPG, 13.9 RPG and a career high 5.0 APG. He was also selected to his sixth straight All-Star game. He helped lead the Celtics to the playoffs, where he averaged 16.6 points and 14.9 rebounds; however, they were eliminated in the second round by the Philadelphia 76ers.
During the 1977–78 season Cowens played in 77 games for the Celtics playing 40+ minutes a game. He averaged 18.6 points, 14 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.9 blocks, and 1.3 steals making Cowens the first player in NBA history to lead their team in all 5 major categories. He also set career highs in free throw percentage shooting .842 along with boasting a .490 field goal percentage which was also a career high. He was once again selected to that year's All-Star game. Despite personal success, the Celtics missed the playoffs for the first time since his 1970–71 rookie season.
After Coach Satch Sanders was fired following a 2–12 start to the 1978–1979 season, Cowens served as player-coach for the remainder of the season. Cowens has the distinction as the last player-coach in NBA history and later reflected on the experience in a 2019 interview stating: