Bob Cousy vs. David Thompson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of David Thompson 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, 6 more than David Thompson, who played 8. Bob Cousy had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, while David Thompson had his rookie season in 1976-77. 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 achievements, 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
David Thompson 8 5 1976-77 to 1983-84

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Rookie Season

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1950-511976-77
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisNuggets Lost West Conf Semis
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+13+10.3+2.8+0.8-0.2+4.2+3.3+.155+1.8+2.3+.010
David Thompson 82 36.6 25.9 1.7 2.4 4.1 4.1 1.4 0.6 - 2.9 10.0 19.8 .507 - - - 5.8 7.6 .766
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+4+10.7+2.3+2.0-0.3+4.8+0.8+.249+1.0+2.8+.154
David Thompson 6 39.5 24.7 2.2 3.0 5.2 4.0 1.5 0.7 - 3.7 9.3 20.2 .463 - - - 6.0 8.8 .679

Season 2

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1951-521977-78
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisNuggets Lost West Conf Finals
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+14+2.8+5.5+1.5+2.2-0.2+2.5+1.2+.152+0.3+0.7+.030
David Thompson 80 37.8 27.2 2.0 2.9 4.9 4.5 1.2 1.2 3.1 2.7 10.3 19.8 .521 - - - 6.5 8.4 .778
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+10+9.0+5.8+0.1+2.3-1.7+1.4+0.7+.050+8.6+8.5+.107
David Thompson 13 37.0 25.2 1.4 2.7 4.1 4.0 0.7 1.6 3.0 2.6 10.1 22.4 .450 - - - 5.1 6.2 .825

Season 3

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1952-531978-79
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
-Achievement All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsNuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+5+6.4+4.2+2.7+4.7-0.8+2.6+0.8+.160+0.9+0.6+.063
David Thompson 76 35.1 24.0 1.4 2.2 3.6 3.0 0.9 1.1 2.4 2.4 9.1 17.8 .512 - - - 5.8 7.7 .753
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+3+4.3+2.5+2.8+2.2-0.5+5.0+3.0+.168+7.5+8.5+.109
David Thompson 3 40.7 28.0 2.3 4.7 7.0 4.0 1.3 0.3 4.0 4.0 12.7 23.0 .551 - - - 2.7 3.7 .727

Season 4

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1953-541979-80
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+33+7.9+2.3+1.0+4.0-0.1+0.6+1.7+.083+0.8+1.3+.029
David Thompson 39 31.8 21.5 1.4 3.0 4.5 3.2 1.0 1.0 3.0 2.7 7.4 15.8 .468 0.2 0.5 .368 6.5 8.6 .758
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
David Thompson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1954-551980-81
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
5th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+6+4.7+4.3+2.3+4.8-0.7+2.1+0.3+.109+0.1+.012
David Thompson 77 34.0 25.5 1.4 2.3 3.7 3.0 0.7 0.8 3.2 3.0 9.5 18.8 .506 0.1 0.5 .256 6.4 8.0 .795
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
David Thompson DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1955-561981-82
Team Boston CelticsDenver Nuggets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisNuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
6th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+18.0+3.9+4.4+7.0-0.5+1.0+6.4+.126+2.1+2.2+.030
David Thompson 61 20.4 14.9 0.9 1.5 2.4 1.9 0.6 0.5 2.3 2.4 5.1 10.6 .486 0.1 0.2 .286 4.5 5.6 .814
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+19.3+14.6+4.7+6.7-1.4+4.3+7.7+.045+6.4+6.0+.349
David Thompson 3 22.0 11.7 1.3 2.0 3.3 2.0 0.3 0.0 2.7 2.7 5.0 11.0 .455 0.3 1.0 .333 1.3 2.3 .571

Season 7

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1956-571982-83
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionSupersonics Lost West Conf 1st Rd
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+8.2+4.7+1.2+4.5-0.2+1.6+7.5+.103+1.7+1.8+.037
David Thompson 75 28.7 15.9 1.3 2.3 3.6 3.0 0.6 0.4 2.2 1.9 5.9 12.3 .481 0.0 0.1 .200 4.0 5.1 .784
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+8+11.5+8.2+6.1+5.8-0.8+2.2+8.2+.036+3.8+4.1+.147
David Thompson 2 32.5 12.0 0.0 0.0 0 3.5 0.5 0.5 2.0 3.5 4.5 12.5 .360 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 5.0 .600

Season 8

Bob Cousy David Thompson
Season 1957-581983-84
Team Boston CelticsSeattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
8th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+46+15.8+5.4+2.7+6.4-0.5+2.1+10.7+.186+1.0+1.2+.001
David Thompson 19 18.4 12.6 0.9 1.4 2.3 0.7 0.5 0.7 1.4 1.6 4.7 8.7 .539 0.0 0.1 .000 3.3 3.8 .849
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
David Thompson DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Bob Cousy played 6 seasons more than David Thompson in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 9 to 14, from 1959 to 1970—Bob Cousy played in 5 Playoffs and won 5 NBA Championships.

In those 6 extra years over David Thompson, Bob Cousy got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 3 All-NBA First Team
Achievement 2 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 2 Assists Leader
Achievement 5 All-Star Game