Dave Cowens vs. Nick Van Exel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nick Van Exel and Dave Cowens, 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.

Dave Cowens played 11 years in the NBA, 2 less than Nick Van Exel, who played 13. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Nick Van Exel had his rookie season in 1993-94. 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
Dave Cowens	11	7	1970-71 to 1982-83
Nick Van Exel	13	7	1993-94 to 2005-06

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1970-71	1993-94
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	81	38.0	17.0	-	-	15.0	2.8	-	-	-	4.3	6.8	16.1	.422	-	-	-	3.4	4.6	.732
Nick Van Exel	81	33.3	13.6	0.6	2.4	2.9	5.8	1.0	0.1	1.8	1.9	5.1	13.0	.394	1.5	4.5	.338	1.9	2.4	.781

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1971-72	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	79	40.3	18.8	-	-	15.2	3.1	-	-	-	4.0	8.3	17.2	.484	-	-	-	2.2	3.1	.720
Nick Van Exel	80	36.8	16.9	0.3	2.5	2.8	8.3	1.2	0.1	2.8	2.0	5.8	13.8	.420	2.3	6.4	.358	2.9	3.8	.783

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	11	40.1	15.5	-	-	13.8	3.0	-	-	-	4.5	6.5	14.2	.455	-	-	-	2.5	4.3	.596
Nick Van Exel	10	46.4	20.0	0.9	2.9	3.8	7.3	2.1	0.3	2.2	3.3	6.7	16.2	.414	2.1	6.6	.318	4.5	5.9	.763


Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1972-73	1995-96
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	82	41.8	20.5	-	-	16.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.0	20.0	.452	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.779
Nick Van Exel	74	34.0	14.9	0.4	2.1	2.4	6.9	0.9	0.1	2.1	1.6	5.4	12.8	.417	1.9	5.4	.357	2.2	2.8	.799

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	13	46.0	21.9	-	-	16.6	3.7	-	-	-	4.2	9.9	21.0	.473	-	-	-	2.1	3.2	.659
Nick Van Exel	4	34.3	11.8	1.0	3.0	4.0	6.8	0.5	0.0	2.8	2.5	4.0	13.5	.296	1.3	4.0	.313	2.5	3.3	.769


Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1973-74	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	80	41.9	19.0	3.3	12.4	15.7	4.4	1.2	1.3	-	3.7	8.1	18.4	.437	-	-	-	2.9	3.4	.832
Nick Van Exel	79	37.2	15.3	0.6	2.3	2.9	8.5	0.9	0.1	2.7	1.4	5.5	13.6	.402	2.2	5.9	.378	2.1	2.5	.825

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	18	42.9	20.5	3.3	10.0	13.3	3.7	1.2	0.9	-	4.7	8.9	20.6	.435	-	-	-	2.6	3.3	.797
Nick Van Exel	9	39.2	14.4	0.7	2.8	3.4	6.4	1.1	0.0	2.0	2.1	5.0	13.2	.378	1.3	4.9	.273	3.1	3.8	.824


Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1974-75	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	65	40.5	20.4	3.5	11.2	14.7	4.6	1.3	1.1	-	3.7	8.8	18.4	.475	-	-	-	2.9	3.8	.783
Nick Van Exel	64	32.1	13.8	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.9	1.0	0.1	1.6	1.9	4.9	11.6	.419	1.9	4.9	.389	2.1	2.7	.791

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	11	43.5	20.5	4.5	12.0	16.5	4.2	1.6	0.5	-	4.5	9.2	21.5	.428	-	-	-	2.1	2.4	.885
Nick Van Exel	13	28.3	11.6	0.7	1.8	2.5	4.2	0.6	0.1	1.7	2.3	3.8	11.6	.331	1.7	5.4	.314	2.2	3.1	.725


Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1975-76	1998-99
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	78	39.8	19.0	4.3	11.7	16.0	4.2	1.2	0.9	-	4.0	7.8	16.7	.468	-	-	-	3.3	4.4	.756
Nick Van Exel	50	36.0	16.5	0.3	2.0	2.3	7.4	0.8	0.1	2.4	1.8	6.1	15.4	.398	1.4	4.7	.308	2.8	3.5	.811

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	18	44.3	21.0	4.8	11.6	16.4	4.6	1.2	0.7	-	4.7	8.7	18.9	.457	-	-	-	3.7	4.8	.759
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1976-77	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	50	37.8	16.4	2.9	11.0	13.9	5.0	0.9	1.0	-	3.6	6.6	15.1	.434	-	-	-	3.2	4.0	.818
Nick Van Exel	79	37.3	16.1	0.4	3.5	3.9	9.0	0.9	0.1	2.8	1.9	6.0	15.4	.390	1.7	5.1	.332	2.5	3.0	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	9	42.1	16.6	3.2	11.7	14.9	4.0	0.9	1.4	-	4.1	7.3	16.4	.446	-	-	-	1.9	2.4	.773
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1977-78	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	77	41.8	18.6	3.2	10.8	14.0	4.6	1.3	0.9	2.8	3.9	7.8	15.8	.490	-	-	-	3.1	3.7	.842
Nick Van Exel	71	37.9	17.7	0.6	2.8	3.4	8.5	0.9	0.3	2.3	1.5	6.5	15.7	.414	1.9	5.0	.377	2.9	3.5	.819

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1978-79	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	68	37.0	16.6	2.2	7.4	9.6	3.6	1.1	0.8	2.6	3.9	7.2	14.9	.483	-	-	-	2.2	2.8	.807
Nick Van Exel	72	34.7	18.4	0.4	3.1	3.5	6.6	0.6	0.2	2.2	1.4	7.0	17.0	.409	1.7	4.9	.340	2.8	3.5	.801

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	8	32.8	11.1	0.9	2.1	3.0	3.9	1.0	0.0	1.5	3.3	4.6	12.6	.366	0.9	4.3	.206	1.0	1.5	.667


Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1979-80	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks 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		%
Dave Cowens	66	32.7	14.2	1.9	6.2	8.1	3.1	1.0	0.9	1.6	3.3	6.4	14.1	.453	0.0	0.2	.083	1.4	1.8	.779
Nick Van Exel	73	27.8	12.5	0.5	2.4	2.8	4.3	0.6	0.1	1.7	1.2	4.7	11.4	.412	1.6	4.3	.378	1.5	2.0	.764

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	9	33.4	12.0	2.0	5.3	7.3	2.3	1.0	0.8	0.9	4.1	5.4	11.4	.476	0.0	0.2	.000	1.1	1.2	.909
Nick Van Exel	20	33.7	19.5	0.9	2.5	3.4	4.1	0.6	0.0	2.0	2.4	7.5	16.3	.460	2.2	5.6	.393	2.3	3.2	.703

Note: Dave Cowens didn't play in 1980-81 and 1981-82.


Season 11
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	1982-83	2003-04
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	40	25.4	8.1	1.8	5.0	6.9	2.1	0.8	0.4	1.1	3.4	3.4	7.7	.444	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	1.6	.825
Nick Van Exel	39	32.2	12.6	0.4	2.3	2.7	5.3	0.5	0.1	2.0	1.5	4.8	12.3	.390	1.2	3.8	.307	1.8	2.5	.707

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	-	2004-05
Team	-	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	53	30.5	11.1	0.4	2.7	3.0	4.3	0.8	0.0	1.7	1.3	4.0	10.6	.381	1.9	4.8	.389	1.1	1.4	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 13
	Dave Cowens	Nick Van Exel
Season	-	2005-06
Team	-	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Spurs 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		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	65	15.2	5.5	0.1	1.3	1.4	1.9	0.2	0.0	0.9	0.9	2.1	5.3	.397	0.8	2.4	.357	0.4	0.6	.683

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nick Van Exel	12	11.1	2.2	0.1	0.9	1.0	1.4	0.3	0.2	0.4	1.2	0.6	2.7	.219	0.3	0.8	.300	0.8	0.8	1.000

Dave Cowens vs. Nick Van Exel Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Nick Van Exel and Dave Cowens, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13