Bob Cousy vs. Yao Ming Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Yao Ming 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, 6 more than Yao Ming, who played 8. Bob Cousy had the first of his seasons in 1950-51, while Yao Ming had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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
Yao Ming 8 4 2002-03 to 2010-11

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

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

Rookie Season

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1950-512002-03
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards -Achievement All-Rookie First Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisDid Not Play
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+2.1+1.3+3.2-0.1+0.9+6.7+.146+0.3+0.8+.055
Yao Ming 82 29.0 13.5 2.4 5.8 8.2 1.7 0.4 1.8 2.1 2.8 4.9 9.8 .498 0.0 0.0 - 3.7 4.5 .811
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
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 2

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1951-522003-04
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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+7.8+4.2+2.6+5.2-0.4+1.3+8.5+.153+1.8+2.3+.001
Yao Ming 82 32.8 17.5 2.4 6.6 9.0 1.5 0.3 1.9 2.5 3.3 6.5 12.5 .522 0.0 0.0 - 4.4 5.4 .809
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:+2+8.4+16.0+3.4+4.5-0.3+2.5+8.1+.056+11.1+11.3+.167
Yao Ming 5 37.6 15.0 2.2 5.2 7.4 1.8 0.4 1.4 2.6 4.0 6.2 13.6 .456 0.0 0.0 - 2.6 3.4 .765

Season 3

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1952-532004-05
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsRockets 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:+9+10.9+1.5+2.1+6.9-0.5+0.2+6.4+.200+1.8+2.1+.033
Yao Ming 80 30.6 18.3 2.6 5.8 8.4 0.8 0.4 2.0 2.5 3.7 6.7 12.2 .552 0.0 0.0 - 4.9 6.2 .783
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+13.1+4.1+3.5+5.5-0.9+0.2+8.0+.272+4.5+4.3+.109
Yao Ming 7 31.9 21.4 3.3 4.4 7.7 0.7 0.3 2.7 2.7 4.4 7.9 12.0 .655 0.0 0.0 - 5.7 7.9 .727

Season 4

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1953-542005-06
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement 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:+15+5.5+3.1+4.7+5.7-0.6+1.4+1.7+.134+0.2+0.4+.066
Yao Ming 57 34.2 22.3 2.6 7.6 10.2 1.5 0.5 1.6 2.6 3.4 8.2 15.8 .519 0.0 0.0 - 5.9 6.9 .853
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
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1954-552006-07
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div FinalsRockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd
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:+23+4.9+3.8+3.4+5.8-1.0+1.4+1.4+.119+0.9+0.6+.055
Yao Ming 48 33.8 25.0 2.1 7.3 9.4 2.0 0.4 2.0 3.5 3.3 8.8 17.1 .516 0.0 0.0 - 7.4 8.6 .862
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:+5.6+3.4+4.2+8.4-0.2+0.3+2.0+.059+2.8+3.8+.078
Yao Ming 7 37.1 25.1 3.3 7.0 10.3 0.9 0.1 0.7 4.7 3.9 7.9 17.9 .440 0.0 0.0 - 9.4 10.7 .880

Season 6

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1955-562007-08
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Third Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Div SemisDid Not Play
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:+17+1.2+3.2+4.0+6.6-0.2+1.8+1.5+.147+0.3+0.4+.006
Yao Ming 55 37.2 22.0 3.1 7.7 10.8 2.3 0.5 2.0 3.3 3.1 7.9 15.5 .507 0.0 0.0 - 6.3 7.4 .850
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
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1956-572008-09
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA First Team-
-Achievement All-NBA Second Team
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement All-Star Game
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionRockets Lost West Conf Semis
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+3.3+0.9+5.1+5.7-1.2+0.1+6.4+.170+0.8+1.2+.045
Yao Ming 77 33.6 19.7 2.6 7.2 9.9 1.8 0.4 1.9 3.0 3.3 7.4 13.4 .548 0.0 0.0 - 4.9 5.7 .866
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:+1+8.1+3.1+4.8+8.3-0.3+0.7+9.7+.221+1.7+3.4+.155
Yao Ming 9 35.9 17.1 2.1 8.8 10.9 1.0 0.4 1.2 1.9 3.0 6.0 11.0 .545 0.0 0.0 - 5.1 5.7 .902

Note: Yao Ming didn't play in 2009-10.

Season 8

Bob Cousy Yao Ming
Season 1957-582010-11
Team Boston CelticsHouston Rockets
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA First Team-
Achievement Assists Leader-
Achievement All-Star GameAchievement 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:+60+16.0+7.8+0.4+6.3-0.5+3.2+12.0+.133+1.3+1.8+.088
Yao Ming 5 18.2 10.2 1.4 4.0 5.4 0.8 0.0 1.6 1.4 2.6 3.6 7.4 .486 0.0 0.0 - 3.0 3.2 .938
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
Yao Ming DNP------ --- ----------

Additional Years

* Bob Cousy played 6 seasons more than Yao Ming 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 Yao Ming, 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