Dave Cowens vs. Joe Dumars Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Joe Dumars 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.

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, 3 less than Joe Dumars, who played 14. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Joe Dumars had his rookie season in 1985-86. 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.

Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1970-71	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+1	+14.1	+7.6			+13.5	+2.0				-1.9	+3.3	+8.8	+.059				+1.1	+1.7	+.066
Joe Dumars	82	23.9	9.4	0.7	0.7	1.5	4.8	0.8	0.1	1.9	2.4	3.5	7.3	.481	0.1	0.2	.313	2.3	2.9	.798
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Joe Dumars	4	36.8	15.0	1.5	1.8	3.3	6.3	1.0	0.0	1.8	4.0	6.3	10.3	.610	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	3.8	.667

Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1971-72	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:		+9.4	+7.0			+13.1	+1.4				-1.5	+3.6	+7.7	+.009				+0.1		+.028
Joe Dumars	79	30.9	11.8	0.6	1.5	2.1	4.5	1.1	0.1	2.2	2.5	4.7	9.5	.493	0.1	0.3	.409	2.3	3.1	.748
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
difference:	+4	+8.6	+2.8			+12.5	+1.8				-2.8	+1.3	+4.5	+.083				+0.4	+1.6	+.184
Joe Dumars	15	31.5	12.7	0.5	0.7	1.3	4.8	0.8	0.1	1.8	1.7	5.2	9.7	.538	0.1	0.2	.667	2.1	2.7	.780

Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1972-73	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:		+8.5	+6.3			+13.8	+0.6				-1.9	+3.5	+8.3	+.020				+0.6	+0.6	+.036
Joe Dumars	82	33.3	14.2	0.8	1.7	2.4	4.7	1.1	0.2	2.1	1.9	5.5	11.7	.472	0.0	0.2	.211	3.1	3.8	.815
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
difference:	+10	+11.0	+9.6			+14.4	+1.2				-2.0	+5.0	+10.3	+.016				+0.3	+0.5	+.230
Joe Dumars	23	35.0	12.3	0.8	1.4	2.2	4.9	0.6	0.1	1.7	2.2	4.9	10.7	.457	0.1	0.3	.333	2.4	2.7	.889

Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1973-74	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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4th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+11	+7.0	+1.8	+2.5	+10.7	+13.2	+1.3	+0.3	+1.2		-2.2	+1.5	+5.3	+.068				+0.9	+1.0	+.018
Joe Dumars	69	34.9	17.2	0.8	1.7	2.5	5.7	0.9	0.1	2.6	1.5	6.6	13.1	.505	0.2	0.4	.483	3.8	4.4	.850
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
difference:	+1	+6.4	+2.9	+2.7	+8.1	+10.7	+1.9	+0.5	+0.8		-2.9	+2.7	+6.9	+.020				+2.5	+2.6	+.064
Joe Dumars	17	36.5	17.6	0.6	1.9	2.6	5.6	0.7	0.1	1.8	1.8	6.2	13.7	.455	0.1	0.7	.083	5.1	5.9	.861

Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1974-75	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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5th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+10	+6.1	+2.6	+2.7	+9.2	+11.9	+0.3	+0.5	+1.1		-2.0	+2.0	+4.3	+.005				+1.1	+0.6	+.117
Joe Dumars	75	34.4	17.8	0.8	2.0	2.8	4.9	0.8	0.0	1.9	1.7	6.8	14.1	.480	0.3	0.7	.400	4.0	4.4	.900
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
difference:	+9	+5.8	+2.3	+3.6	+10.7	+14.3	+0.6	+0.5	+0.5		-2.6	+2.7	+7.3	+.030				+2.9	+3.3	+.009
Joe Dumars	20	37.7	18.2	0.9	1.3	2.2	4.8	1.1	0.0	2.7	1.9	6.5	14.2	.458	0.3	1.0	.263	5.0	5.7	.876

Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1975-76	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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6th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+2	+1.7	+1.4	+3.5	+10.1	+13.7	+1.3	+0.1	+0.8		-2.3		+0.5	+.013				+1.3	+0.8	+.134
Joe Dumars	80	38.1	20.4	0.8	1.6	2.3	5.5	1.1	0.1	2.4	1.7	7.8	16.2	.481	0.2	0.6	.311	4.6	5.2	.890
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
difference:	+3	+5.1	+0.4	+3.4	+9.7	+13.1	+0.5	+0.1	+0.6		-2.5	+1.7	+2.6	+.028				+1.8	+1.7	+.086
Joe Dumars	15	39.2	20.6	1.4	1.9	3.3	4.1	1.1	0.1	1.1	2.2	7.0	16.3	.429	1.1	2.8	.405	5.5	6.5	.845

Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1976-77	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+32	+1.1	+3.5	+1.9	+9.7	+11.6	+0.4		+0.9		-1.8	+0.6	+0.9	+.014				+1.8	+1.8	+.049
Joe Dumars	82	38.9	19.9	1.0	1.3	2.3	4.6	0.9	0.1	2.4	1.8	7.2	16.0	.448	0.6	1.5	.408	5.0	5.8	.867
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
difference:	+4	+2.1	+0.2	+2.2	+11.1	+13.3	+0.8	+0.1	+1.2		-1.9	+0.9	+2.8	+.025				+1.1	+1.4	+.016
Joe Dumars	5	44.2	16.8	1.0	0.6	1.6	3.2	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.2	6.4	13.6	.471	1.0	2.0	.500	3.0	3.8	.789

Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1977-78	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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8th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:		+1.6	+4.9	+2.4	+9.7	+12.1	+0.6	+0.3	+0.8	-1.0	-2.1	+1.0	+3.1	+.024				+1.4	+1.5	+.022
Joe Dumars	77	40.2	23.5	0.8	1.1	1.9	4.0	1.0	0.1	1.8	1.8	8.8	18.9	.466	1.5	3.9	.375	4.5	5.2	.864
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dave Cowens nor Joe Dumars played in the postseason in their season 8

Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Joe Dumars
Season	1979-80	1994-95
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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10th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+1	+5.3	+3.9	+1.2	+4.5	+5.7	+2.4	+0.1	+0.8	-1.7	-1.0	+0.2	+0.4	+.023	+1.5	+4.8	+.222	+2.7	+3.3	+.026
Joe Dumars	67	38.0	18.1	0.7	1.7	2.4	5.5	1.1	0.1	3.3	2.3	6.2	14.5	.430	1.5	5.0	.305	4.1	5.1	.805
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
Joe Dumars	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

Additional Years
* Joe Dumars played 3 seasons more than Dave Cowens in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 14, from 1997 to 1999—Joe Dumars played in two Playoffs. In those 3 extra years over Dave Cowens, Joe Dumars got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game