Bob Cousy vs. Gary Payton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Gary Payton and Bob Cousy, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Bob Cousy played 14 years in the NBA, 3 less than Gary Payton, who played 17. Bob Cousy had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, while Gary Payton had his rookie season in 1990-91. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Bob Cousy 14 13 1950-51 to 1969-70
Gary Payton 17 15 1990-91 to 2006-07

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17

Rookie Season

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1950-511990-91
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie Second Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisSupersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 69 - 15.6 - - 6.9 4.9 - - - 2.7 5.8 16.5 .352 - - - 4.0 5.3 .756
Gary Payton 82 27.4 7.2 1.3 1.6 3.0 6.4 2.0 0.2 2.2 3.0 3.2 7.0 .450 0.0 0.2 .077 0.8 1.2 .711
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 2 - 14.0 - - 7.5 6.0 - - - 4.0 4.5 21.0 .214 - - - 5.0 6.0 .833
Gary Payton 5 27.0 4.8 1.0 1.6 2.6 6.4 1.6 0.2 1.8 3.2 2.2 5.4 .407 0.0 0.2 .000 0.4 0.4 1.000

Season 2

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1951-521991-92
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisSupersonics Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 66 40.6 21.7 - - 6.4 6.7 - - - 2.9 7.8 21.0 .369 - - - 6.2 7.7 .808
Gary Payton 81 31.5 9.4 1.5 2.1 3.6 6.2 1.8 0.3 2.1 3.1 4.1 9.1 .451 0.0 0.3 .130 1.2 1.8 .669
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 3 46.0 31.0 - - 4.0 6.3 - - - 4.3 8.7 21.7 .400 - - - 13.7 14.7 .932
Gary Payton 8 27.6 7.6 0.8 1.9 2.6 4.8 1.0 0.3 1.3 3.3 3.4 7.3 .466 0.0 0.3 .000 0.9 1.5 .583

Season 3

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1952-531992-93
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsSupersonics Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 71 41.5 19.8 - - 6.3 7.7 - - - 3.2 6.5 18.6 .352 - - - 6.7 8.3 .816
Gary Payton 82 31.1 13.5 1.2 2.3 3.4 4.9 2.2 0.3 1.8 3.0 5.8 11.7 .494 0.1 0.4 .206 1.8 2.4 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 6 45.0 25.5 - - 4.2 6.2 - - - 3.5 7.7 20.0 .383 - - - 10.2 12.2 .836
Gary Payton 19 31.8 12.3 1.2 2.2 3.3 3.7 1.8 0.2 1.8 3.4 5.5 12.4 .443 0.1 0.3 .167 1.3 1.9 .676

Season 4

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1953-541993-94
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsSupersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 72 39.7 19.2 - - 5.5 7.2 - - - 2.8 6.8 17.5 .385 - - - 5.7 7.3 .787
Gary Payton 82 35.1 16.5 1.3 2.0 3.3 6.0 2.3 0.2 2.1 2.8 7.1 14.1 .504 0.2 0.7 .278 2.0 3.4 .595
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 6 43.3 21.0 - - 5.3 6.3 - - - 3.3 5.5 19.3 .284 - - - 10.0 12.5 .800
Gary Payton 5 36.2 15.8 1.2 2.2 3.4 5.6 1.6 0.4 1.6 3.0 6.8 13.8 .493 0.6 1.8 .333 1.6 3.8 .421

Season 5

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1954-551994-95
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsSupersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 71 38.7 21.2 - - 6.0 7.8 - - - 2.3 7.4 18.5 .397 - - - 6.5 8.0 .807
Gary Payton 82 36.8 20.6 1.3 2.1 3.4 7.1 2.5 0.2 2.5 2.5 8.4 16.4 .509 0.9 2.8 .302 3.0 4.2 .716
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 7 42.7 21.7 - - 6.1 9.3 - - - 3.7 7.6 19.9 .381 - - - 6.6 6.9 .958
Gary Payton 4 43.0 17.8 1.5 1.0 2.5 5.3 1.3 0.0 2.0 3.3 8.0 16.8 .478 0.5 2.5 .200 1.3 3.0 .417

Season 6

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1955-561995-96
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
-Achievement Defensive Player of the Year
Achievement Assists Leader-
-Achievement Steals Leader
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisSupersonics Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 72 38.4 18.8 - - 6.8 8.9 - - - 2.9 6.1 17.0 .360 - - - 6.6 7.8 .844
Gary Payton 81 39.0 19.3 1.3 2.9 4.2 7.5 2.9 0.2 3.2 2.7 7.6 15.8 .484 1.2 3.7 .328 2.8 3.8 .748
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 3 41.3 26.3 - - 8.0 8.7 - - - 1.3 9.3 18.7 .500 - - - 7.7 8.3 .920
Gary Payton 21 43.4 20.7 0.9 4.2 5.1 6.8 1.8 0.3 3.0 3.3 7.7 15.9 .485 2.0 4.8 .410 3.3 5.2 .633

Season 7

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1956-571996-97
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSupersonics Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 64 36.9 20.6 - - 4.8 7.5 - - - 2.1 7.5 19.8 .378 - - - 5.7 6.9 .821
Gary Payton 82 39.2 21.8 1.3 3.3 4.6 7.1 2.4 0.2 2.6 2.5 8.6 18.1 .476 1.5 4.6 .313 3.1 4.3 .715
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 10 44.0 20.2 - - 6.1 9.3 - - - 2.7 6.7 20.7 .324 - - - 6.8 9.1 .747
Gary Payton 12 45.6 23.8 1.7 3.8 5.4 8.7 2.2 0.3 2.9 2.2 8.8 21.3 .412 2.1 6.3 .333 4.2 5.1 .820

Season 8

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1957-581997-98
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsSupersonics Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 65 34.2 18.0 - - 5.0 7.1 - - - 2.1 6.8 19.4 .353 - - - 4.3 5.0 .850
Gary Payton 82 38.4 19.2 0.9 3.6 4.6 8.3 2.3 0.2 2.8 2.4 7.1 15.6 .453 1.6 4.8 .338 3.4 4.6 .744
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 11 41.5 18.0 - - 6.5 7.5 - - - 1.8 6.1 17.8 .342 - - - 5.8 6.8 .853
Gary Payton 10 42.7 24.0 0.9 2.5 3.4 7.0 1.8 0.1 2.6 3.1 8.7 18.3 .475 1.9 5.0 .380 4.7 5.0 .940

Season 9

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1958-591998-99
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 65 37.0 20.0 - - 5.5 8.6 - - - 2.1 7.4 19.4 .384 - - - 5.1 5.9 .855
Gary Payton 50 40.2 21.7 1.2 3.6 4.9 8.7 2.2 0.2 3.1 2.3 8.0 18.5 .434 1.7 5.6 .295 4.0 5.5 .721
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 11 41.8 19.5 - - 6.9 10.8 - - - 2.5 6.5 20.1 .326 - - - 6.4 8.5 .745
Gary Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1959-601999-00
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSupersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 75 34.5 19.4 - - 4.7 9.5 - - - 1.9 7.6 19.7 .384 - - - 4.3 5.4 .792
Gary Payton 82 41.8 24.2 1.2 5.2 6.5 8.9 1.9 0.2 2.7 2.2 9.1 20.3 .448 2.2 6.3 .340 3.8 5.2 .735
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 13 36.0 15.3 - - 3.7 8.9 - - - 2.1 6.2 20.2 .305 - - - 3.0 3.9 .765
Gary Payton 5 44.2 25.8 1.6 6.0 7.6 7.4 1.8 0.2 3.6 3.2 10.0 22.6 .442 1.8 4.6 .391 4.0 5.2 .769

Season 11

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1960-612000-01
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 76 32.5 18.1 - - 4.4 7.7 - - - 2.6 6.8 18.2 .371 - - - 4.6 5.9 .779
Gary Payton 79 41.1 23.1 0.9 3.6 4.6 8.1 1.6 0.3 2.6 2.3 9.2 20.1 .456 1.3 3.4 .375 3.4 4.5 .766
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 10 33.7 16.7 - - 4.3 9.1 - - - 3.3 5.0 14.7 .340 - - - 6.7 8.8 .761
Gary Payton ------- --- ----------

Season 12

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1961-622001-02
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second TeamAchievement All-NBA Second Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSupersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 75 28.2 15.7 - - 3.5 7.8 - - - 1.8 6.2 15.7 .391 - - - 3.3 4.4 .754
Gary Payton 82 40.3 22.1 1.0 3.9 4.8 9.0 1.6 0.3 2.5 2.2 9.0 19.2 .467 0.9 2.9 .314 3.3 4.1 .797
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 14 33.9 16.0 - - 4.6 8.8 - - - 3.1 6.1 17.2 .357 - - - 3.7 5.4 .684
Gary Payton 5 41.2 22.2 2.0 6.6 8.6 5.8 0.6 0.4 2.6 2.4 9.0 21.2 .425 0.8 3.0 .267 3.4 5.8 .586

Season 13

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1962-632002-03
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionBucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 76 26.0 13.2 - - 2.5 6.8 - - - 2.3 5.2 13.0 .397 - - - 2.9 3.9 .735
Gary Payton 80 40.1 20.4 1.0 3.2 4.2 8.3 1.7 0.3 2.3 2.3 8.3 18.3 .454 0.7 2.3 .297 3.1 4.4 .710
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 13 30.2 14.1 - - 2.5 8.9 - - - 3.4 5.5 15.7 .353 - - - 3.0 3.6 .830
Gary Payton 6 41.8 18.5 0.7 2.3 3.0 8.7 1.3 0.2 2.2 3.0 8.0 18.7 .429 0.2 2.5 .067 2.3 3.3 .700

Note: Bob Cousy didn't play in 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68 and 1968-69.

Season 14

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season 1969-702003-04
Team Cincinnati RoyalsLos Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayLakers Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy 7 4.9 0.7 - - 0.7 1.4 - - - 1.6 0.1 0.4 .333 - - - 0.4 0.4 1.000
Gary Payton 82 34.5 14.6 0.9 3.3 4.2 5.5 1.2 0.2 1.8 2.1 5.9 12.5 .471 0.7 2.0 .333 2.2 3.1 .714
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 22 35.0 7.8 0.9 2.4 3.3 5.3 1.0 0.2 1.3 2.7 3.1 8.5 .366 0.6 2.5 .250 1.0 1.3 .750

Season 15

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season -2004-05
Team -Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 77 33.0 11.3 0.6 2.4 3.1 6.1 1.1 0.2 1.9 1.6 4.4 9.4 .468 0.5 1.7 .326 2.0 2.6 .761
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 7 34.1 10.3 1.1 3.0 4.1 4.6 0.9 0.1 1.6 1.4 4.7 10.6 .446 0.1 2.0 .071 0.7 0.9 .833

Season 16

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season -2005-06
Team -Miami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -NBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 81 28.5 7.7 0.4 2.5 2.9 3.2 0.9 0.1 1.3 2.1 2.8 6.8 .420 0.8 2.8 .287 1.2 1.6 .794
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 23 24.3 5.8 0.3 1.5 1.7 1.6 1.0 0.1 0.8 2.4 2.1 5.0 .422 0.7 2.5 .293 0.8 1.1 .720

Season 17

Bob Cousy Gary Payton
Season -2006-07
Team -Miami Heat
Honors & Awards
Playoffs -Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 68 22.1 5.3 0.3 1.7 1.9 3.0 0.6 0.0 1.0 1.7 2.1 5.4 .393 0.5 1.8 .260 0.6 0.8 .667
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Bob Cousy ------- --- ----------
Gary Payton 2 16.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 2.0 1.5 0.0 0.0 2.0 1.5 0.0 1.5 .000 0.0 0.5 .000 0.0 0.0 -