Bob Cousy vs. Kevin McHale Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kevin McHale 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 / Stats Rankings

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, 1 more than Kevin McHale, who played 13. Bob Cousy had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, while Kevin McHale had his rookie season in 1980-81. 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
Kevin McHale 13 13 1980-81 to 1992-93

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13

Rookie Season

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1950-511980-81
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
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+5.6+2.5+4.2-0.5+1.5+8.4+.181+2.7+3.4+.077
Kevin McHale 82 20.1 10.0 1.9 2.5 4.4 0.7 0.3 1.8 1.3 3.2 4.3 8.1 .533 0.0 0.0 - 1.3 1.9 .679
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:+15+5.5+4.0+5.2-1.0+0.9+14.4+.326+3.6+3.9+.194
Kevin McHale 17 17.4 8.5 1.7 1.8 3.5 0.8 0.2 1.5 0.9 3.0 3.6 6.6 .540 0.0 0.0 - 1.4 2.1 .639

Season 2

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1951-521981-82
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisCeltics Lost East 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:+16+12.2+8.1+0.4+5.6-0.3+2.1+10.3+.162+3.9+4.7+.054
Kevin McHale 82 28.4 13.6 2.3 4.5 6.8 1.1 0.4 2.3 1.7 3.2 5.7 10.7 .531 0.0 0.0 - 2.3 3.0 .754
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:+9+17.3+14.8+3.1+5.4-0.6+2.3+10.5+.175+10.4+10.3+.177
Kevin McHale 12 28.7 16.2 3.4 3.7 7.1 0.9 0.4 2.3 1.3 3.7 6.4 11.2 .575 0.0 0.0 - 3.3 4.4 .755

Season 3

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1952-531982-83
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
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:+11+12.9+5.7+0.4+6.4-0.3+0.6+7.7+.189+4.3+5.0+.099
Kevin McHale 82 28.6 14.1 2.6 4.1 6.7 1.3 0.4 2.3 1.9 2.9 5.9 10.9 .541 0.0 0.0 - 2.4 3.3 .717
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:+1+19.7+14.4+1.8+5.5-1.2+2.8+11.1+.165+8.8+9.6+.280
Kevin McHale 7 25.3 11.1 2.1 3.9 6.0 0.7 0.4 1.0 1.4 2.3 4.9 8.9 .548 0.0 0.1 .000 1.4 2.6 .556

Season 4

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1953-541983-84
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement Sixth Man of the Year
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+10+8.3+0.8+1.9+5.9-0.2+0.4+4.6+.171+1.6+1.9+.022
Kevin McHale 82 31.4 18.4 2.5 4.9 7.4 1.3 0.3 1.5 1.8 3.0 7.2 12.9 .556 0.0 0.0 - 4.1 5.4 .765
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
difference:+17+12.8+6.2+0.9+5.1+0.2+8.7+.220+5.9+7.2+.023
Kevin McHale 23 30.5 14.8 2.7 3.5 6.2 1.2 0.1 1.5 1.7 3.3 5.3 10.6 .504 0.0 0.1 .000 4.1 5.3 .777

Season 5

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1954-551984-85
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement Sixth Man of the Year
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsCeltics Lost NBA Finals
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:+8+5.1+1.4+3.0+6.0-0.7+0.3+5.1+.173+2.0+2.1+.047
Kevin McHale 79 33.6 19.8 2.9 6.1 9.0 1.8 0.4 1.5 2.0 3.0 7.7 13.4 .570 0.0 0.1 .000 4.5 5.9 .760
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
difference:+14+2.8+0.4+3.8+7.8-0.2+0.6+5.5+.187+0.8+0.2+.151
Kevin McHale 21 39.9 22.1 3.5 6.4 9.9 1.5 0.6 2.2 2.9 3.5 8.2 14.4 .568 0.0 0.0 - 5.8 7.1 .807

Season 6

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1955-561985-86
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisNBA Champion NBA Champion
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:+4+3.1+2.5+1.3+6.2-0.1+2.2+2.6+.214+1.8+1.6+.068
Kevin McHale 68 35.3 21.3 2.5 5.6 8.1 2.7 0.4 2.0 2.2 2.8 8.3 14.4 .574 0.0 0.0 - 4.8 6.2 .776
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:+15+1.6+1.4+0.6+6.0-2.3+2.6+.079+1.5+0.5+.126
Kevin McHale 18 39.7 24.9 2.8 5.8 8.6 2.7 0.4 2.4 2.7 3.6 9.3 16.1 .579 0.0 0.1 .000 6.2 7.8 .794

Season 7

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1956-571986-87
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First TeamAchievement All-NBA First Team
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost NBA Finals
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:+13+2.8+5.5+5.1+4.9-1.0+2.8+2.8+.226+0.1+0.3+.015
Kevin McHale 77 39.7 26.1 3.2 6.7 9.9 2.6 0.5 2.2 2.6 3.1 10.3 17.0 .604 0.0 0.1 .000 5.6 6.6 .836
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:+11+4.6+0.9+3.1+7.4-0.7+1.6+6.5+.260+2.2+3.1+.015
Kevin McHale 21 39.4 21.1 3.1 6.1 9.2 1.9 0.3 1.4 2.6 3.4 8.3 14.2 .584 0.0 0.0 - 4.6 6.0 .762

Season 8

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1957-581987-88
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive First Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost NBA FinalsCeltics Lost East Conf Finals
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:+1+3.1+4.6+3.4+4.4-0.7+1.8+5.2+.251+1.1+1.8+.053
Kevin McHale 64 37.3 22.6 2.5 5.9 8.4 2.7 0.4 1.4 2.2 2.8 8.6 14.2 .604 0.0 0.0 - 5.4 6.8 .797
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
difference:+6+0.6+7.4+1.5+5.1-2.0+3.2+2.4+.261+1.0+1.3+.014
Kevin McHale 17 42.1 25.4 3.2 4.8 8.0 2.4 0.4 1.8 2.3 3.8 9.3 15.4 .603 0.1 0.1 1.000 6.8 8.1 .839

Season 9

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1958-591988-89
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
9th 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 37.0 20.0 - - 5.5 8.6 - - - 2.1 7.4 19.4 .384 - - - 5.1 5.9 .855
difference:+13+0.1+2.5+2.7+6.4-0.8+1.1+3.9+.162+0.5+0.9+.037
Kevin McHale 78 36.9 22.5 2.9 5.3 8.2 2.2 0.3 1.2 2.5 2.9 8.5 15.5 .546 0.0 0.1 .000 5.6 6.8 .818
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+8+3.5+0.5+1.1+7.8-1.8+0.2+6.4+.162+0.7+0.8+.006
Kevin McHale 3 38.3 19.0 2.3 5.7 8.0 3.0 0.3 0.7 1.3 4.3 6.7 13.7 .488 0.0 0.0 - 5.7 7.7 .739

Season 10

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1959-601989-90
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
10th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+7+1.3+1.5+3.6+7.4-1.1+0.3+5.3+.165+0.5+.101
Kevin McHale 82 33.2 20.9 2.5 5.8 8.3 2.1 0.4 1.9 2.2 3.0 7.9 14.4 .549 0.3 0.8 .333 4.8 5.4 .893
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+8+2.4+6.7+4.1+6.3-1.3+2.2+6.4+.304+2.0+1.9+.097
Kevin McHale 5 38.4 22.0 1.6 6.2 7.8 2.6 0.4 2.0 2.8 3.4 8.4 13.8 .609 0.2 0.6 .333 5.0 5.8 .862

Season 11

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1960-611990-91
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
11th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+8+2.1+0.3+2.7+5.8-0.3+0.6+4.8+.182+1.2+1.9+.050
Kevin McHale 68 30.4 18.4 2.1 4.9 7.1 1.9 0.4 2.1 2.1 2.9 7.4 13.4 .553 0.2 0.5 .405 3.4 4.0 .829
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+1+0.5+4.0+2.2+7.3-0.5+2.1+1.2+.187+0.7+1.5+.064
Kevin McHale 11 34.2 20.7 1.6 4.9 6.5 1.8 0.5 1.3 1.3 3.8 7.1 13.5 .527 0.5 1.0 .545 6.0 7.3 .825

Season 12

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1961-621991-92
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
12th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+19+3.2+1.8+2.4+6.3-0.2+0.4+4.4+.118+0.9+1.5+.068
Kevin McHale 56 25.0 13.9 2.1 3.8 5.9 1.5 0.2 1.1 1.5 2.0 5.8 11.3 .509 0.0 0.2 .000 2.4 2.9 .822
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+4+3.3+0.5+2.1+7.5-0.3+0.4+4.6+.159+0.2+1.0+.111
Kevin McHale 10 30.6 16.5 2.1 4.6 6.7 1.3 0.5 0.5 0.9 3.4 6.5 12.6 .516 0.0 0.1 .000 3.5 4.4 .795

Season 13

Bob Cousy Kevin McHale
Season 1962-631992-93
Team Boston CelticsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionCeltics Lost East Conf 1st Rd
more >>
13th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+5+2.7+2.5+2.5+5.8-0.5+1.0+3.9+.062+0.6+1.2+.106
Kevin McHale 71 23.3 10.7 1.3 3.7 5.0 1.0 0.2 0.8 1.3 1.8 4.2 9.1 .459 0.0 0.3 .111 2.3 2.7 .841
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+9+1.9+4.9+4.8+8.1-1.9+2.5+1.9+.229+0.1+.027
Kevin McHale 4 28.3 19.0 2.3 5.0 7.3 0.8 0.5 1.8 1.3 1.5 8.0 13.8 .582 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 3.5 .857

Additional Years

* Bob Cousy played 1 season more than Kevin McHale in the NBA.

In that period—his season 14 in 1970—Bob Cousy didn't play in the postseason.