Dave Cowens vs. Jakob Poeltl Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jakob Poeltl 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 more than Jakob Poeltl, who played 9. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Jakob Poeltl had his rookie season in 2016-17. 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
Dave Cowens 11 7 1970-71 to 1982-83
Jakob Poeltl 9 3 2016-17 to 2024-25

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

Rookie Season

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1970-712016-17
Team Boston CelticsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayRaptors Lost East 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%
Dave Cowens 81 38.0 17.0 - - 15.0 2.8 - - - 4.3 6.8 16.1 .422 - - - 3.4 4.6 .732
difference:+27+26.4+13.9+11.9+2.6-2.2+5.6+14.0+.161+2.8+3.5+.188
Jakob Poeltl 54 11.6 3.1 1.4 1.6 3.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 2.1 1.2 2.1 .583 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.1 .544
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Dave Cowens DNP------ --- ----------
Jakob Poeltl 6 4.3 1.7 1.0 1.0 2.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.5 0.8 1.8 .455 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.3 .000

Season 2

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1971-722017-18
Team Boston CelticsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsRaptors Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+3+21.7+11.9+10.4+2.4-1.4+5.2+12.5+.175+1.5+1.9+.126
Jakob Poeltl 82 18.6 6.9 2.0 2.8 4.8 0.7 0.5 1.2 1.0 2.6 3.1 4.7 .659 0.0 0.0 - 0.7 1.2 .594
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+2+24.5+10.1+9.8+2.3-1.7+4.6+10.8+.093+0.8+2.2+.193
Jakob Poeltl 9 15.6 5.4 1.7 2.3 4.0 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.9 2.8 1.9 3.4 .548 0.0 0.1 .000 1.7 2.1 .789

Season 3

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1972-732018-19
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game MVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsSpurs 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%
Dave Cowens 82 41.8 20.5 - - 16.2 4.1 - - - 3.8 9.0 20.0 .452 - - - 2.5 3.2 .779
difference:+5+25.3+15.0+10.9+2.9-2.2+6.6+16.2+.193+1.9+2.0+.246
Jakob Poeltl 77 16.5 5.5 2.3 3.0 5.3 1.2 0.4 0.9 0.6 1.6 2.4 3.8 .645 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.2 .533
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+6+20.7+14.6+8.9+2.0-0.5+6.6+15.9+.166+1.4+1.9+.103
Jakob Poeltl 7 25.3 7.3 3.6 4.1 7.7 1.7 0.3 0.7 0.4 3.7 3.3 5.1 .639 0.0 0.1 .000 0.7 1.3 .556

Season 4

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1973-742019-20
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid 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%
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
difference:+14+24.2+13.4+1.3+8.7+10.0+2.6+0.6+0.1-1.8+5.6+14.4+.187+2.3+2.1+.367
Jakob Poeltl 66 17.7 5.6 2.0 3.7 5.7 1.8 0.6 1.4 0.8 1.9 2.5 4.0 .624 0.0 0.0 - 0.6 1.3 .465
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Jakob Poeltl DNP------ --- ----------

Season 5

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1974-752020-21
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf 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%
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
difference:+4+13.8+11.8+0.3+6.4+6.8+2.7+0.6+0.7-1.2+5.0+12.2+.141+2.0+2.0+.275
Jakob Poeltl 69 26.7 8.6 3.2 4.8 7.9 1.9 0.7 1.8 1.2 2.5 3.8 6.2 .616 0.0 0.0 - 0.9 1.8 .508
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Jakob Poeltl DNP------ --- ----------

Season 6

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1975-762021-22
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid 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%
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
difference:+10+10.8+5.5+0.4+6.2+6.7+1.4+0.5+0.8-0.9+1.8+6.9+.150+1.9+1.6+.261
Jakob Poeltl 68 29.0 13.5 3.9 5.5 9.3 2.8 0.7 1.7 1.6 3.1 6.0 9.8 .618 0.0 0.0 - 1.4 2.8 .495
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Jakob Poeltl DNP------ --- ----------

Season 7

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1976-772022-23
Team Boston CelticsSan Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
7th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+22+11.3+3.9+0.4+5.2+4.8+2.3+0.2-0.9+1.2+6.5+.195+1.5+1.2+.226
Jakob Poeltl 72 26.5 12.5 3.3 5.8 9.1 2.7 0.9 1.2 1.7 2.7 5.4 8.6 .629 0.0 0.0 - 1.7 2.8 .592
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
Jakob Poeltl DNP------ --- ----------

Season 8

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1977-782023-24
Team Boston CelticsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid 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%
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
difference:+27+15.4+7.5+0.3+5.1+5.4+2.1+0.6+0.6-1.3-0.9+2.8+8.2+.166+1.9+1.6+.291
Jakob Poeltl 50 26.4 11.1 2.9 5.7 8.6 2.5 0.7 1.5 1.5 3.0 5.0 7.6 .656 0.0 0.0 - 1.2 2.1 .551
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dave Cowens nor Jakob Poeltl played in the postseason in their season 8

Season 9

Dave Cowens Jakob Poeltl
Season 1978-792024-25
Team Boston CelticsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayDid Not Play
more >>
9th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF 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
difference:+11+7.4+2.1+1.1+1.1+0.8+0.1+0.4-0.7-0.8+0.8+4.7+.144+0.5+0.3+.133
Jakob Poeltl 57 29.6 14.5 3.3 6.3 9.6 2.8 1.2 1.2 1.9 3.1 6.4 10.2 .627 0.0 0.1 .333 1.7 2.5 .674
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dave Cowens nor Jakob Poeltl played in the postseason in their season 9

Additional Years

* Dave Cowens played 2 seasons more than Jakob Poeltl in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 10 to 11, from 1980 to 1983—Dave Cowens played in one postseason.

In those 2 extra years over Jakob Poeltl, Dave Cowens got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 1 All-Defensive Second Team
Achievement 1 All-Star Game