Dave Cowens

Dave Cowens was born on October 25, 1948, in Newport, Kentucky. Playing collegiate basketball for Florida State University, Cowens averaged 19 points and 17 rebounds per game, catching the eye of Boston Celtics legend Red Auerbach. Selected fourth overall in the 1970 NBA draft on the personal recommendation of Bill Russell, Cowens shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1971.

At 6-foot-9, Cowens was undersized compared to colossal centers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. However, his unmatched work ethic, diving for loose balls, running the fastbreak, and relentless physical defense made him the heartbeat of Boston. In 1973, Cowens led the Celtics to a 68-14 regular season record and was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) as well as the NBA All-Star Game MVP.

Cowens anchored the Celtics to two NBA Championships in 1974 (defeating Kareem's Milwaukee Bucks in a dramatic seven-game series) and 1976 (defeating the Phoenix Suns). Over his illustrious ten-year Celtics career, he accumulated 13,516 points and 10,444 rebounds, was an eight-time NBA All-Star, and served as player-coach. In 1991, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and his No. 18 jersey hangs retired in the Boston Garden rafters.