Brief Biography of NBA Legend Dave Cowens and His Career

Dave Cowens was born on October 25, 1948 in Newport, Kentucky. After high school Cowens attended Florida State University where he played basketball. Cowens was a standout at Florida State and averaged 19.0 points per game during his time there. He scored 1,479 points and gathered in 1,340 rebounds during his college career.

After a great college basketball career, Cowens took his game to the NBA and was drafted in 1970 with the fourth overall pick by the Boston Celtics. Cowens shared the Rookie of the Year award with Geoff Petrie after he averaged 17.0 points and 15.0 rebounds per game. Only two seasons after his spectacular rookie campaign, Dave Cowens would be awarded with the NBA Most Valuable Player award after he averaged 20.5 points and 16.2 rebounds per game during the 1972-1973 season.

It was during the same season that Cowens would be awarded with the NBA All-Star Game MVP award. Cowens would go on to play seven more seasons in Boston, ten in total. He won NBA Championships with the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. In 1982, after a very brief retirement, Cowens attempted to come back to the NBA and play for the Milwaukee Bucks. This plan did not work great for Cowens as he only played 40 games before retiring for good.

Cowens was well known and loved by fans for his hustle play and never-give-up attitude. Cowens would often lay his body and health on the line for the team and attempt to make hustle plays that many people thought nobody was crazy enough to try. This hard work and determination caused him to be a great player and a fan favorite in Boston.

Cowens was very passionate about what he did and if he wasn't 100% into it mentally, he would just quit. This character trait became very clear in 1977 when he unexpectedly left the Boston Celtics to have some time off. His passion for the game was lost for a while and he reportedly drove a cab for work during this hiatus from the NBA. Obviously, Cowens would return to the Celtics that same season.

Dave Cowens is a player that should never be forgotten by NBA fans. His play and skill level were top notch and he was always the hardest working player on the court. Cowens averaged 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds per game during his NBA career. Dave Cowens was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.