Dave Cowens vs. John Wallace Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Wallace 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, 4 more than John Wallace, who played 7. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while John Wallace had his rookie season in 1996-97. 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 achivements, 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
John Wallace 7 2 1996-97 to 2003-04

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11

Rookie Season

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1970-711996-97
Team Boston CelticsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement Rookie of the Year-
Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayKnicks Lost East Conf Semis
more >>
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
John Wallace 68 11.6 4.8 0.8 1.5 2.3 0.5 0.3 0.4 1.1 1.5 1.8 3.5 .517 0.0 0.1 .500 1.2 1.6 .718
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave Cowens ------- --- ----------
John Wallace 4 10.0 2.5 0.5 1.3 1.8 1.3 0.3 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.0 3.8 .267 0.0 0.3 .000 0.5 0.5 1.000

Season 2

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1971-721997-98
Team Boston CelticsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
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
John Wallace 82 28.8 14.0 1.4 3.1 4.5 1.3 0.8 1.2 2.1 2.9 5.7 11.9 .478 0.0 0.0 .500 2.6 3.6 .717
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Season 3

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1972-731998-99
Team Boston CelticsToronto Raptors
Honors & Awards Achievement Season MVP-
Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Achievement All-Star Game NVP-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf FinalsDid Not Play
more >>
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
John Wallace 48 16.9 8.6 1.1 2.4 3.6 1.0 0.3 0.9 1.5 1.9 3.2 7.4 .432 0.0 0.0 - 2.2 3.1 .700
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Season 4

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1973-741999-00
Team Boston CelticsNew York Knicks
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionKnicks Lost East Conf Finals
more >>
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
John Wallace 60 13.3 6.5 0.7 1.6 2.3 0.4 0.2 0.2 1.1 1.7 2.6 5.5 .467 0.0 0.1 .000 1.4 1.7 .804
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
John Wallace 1 5.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 .000 0.0 0.0 - 0.0 0.0 -

Season 5

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1974-752000-01
Team Boston CelticsDetroit Pistons
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 >>
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
John Wallace 40 13.2 5.9 0.6 1.5 2.1 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.9 1.8 2.5 5.9 .424 0.1 0.4 .133 0.9 1.1 .778
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Season 6

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1975-762001-02
Team Boston CelticsPhoenix Suns
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Second Team-
Achievement All-Defensive First Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs NBA Champion NBA ChampionDid Not Play
more >>
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
John Wallace 46 10.7 5.0 0.6 1.3 1.8 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.6 1.3 2.0 4.7 .435 0.1 0.3 .385 0.9 1.0 .870
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Note: John Wallace didn't play in 2002-03.

Season 7

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1976-772003-04
Team Boston CelticsMiami Heat
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf SemisDid Not Play
more >>
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
John Wallace 37 9.9 4.3 0.3 1.3 1.6 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.6 1.0 1.6 3.9 .421 0.1 0.4 .385 0.8 1.1 .775
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Season 8

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1977-78-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave Cowens ------- --- ----------
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Season 9

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1978-79-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF 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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave Cowens ------- --- ----------
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

Season 10

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1979-80-
Team Boston Celtics-
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Defensive Second Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Celtics Lost East Conf Finals-
more >>
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------
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
John Wallace ------- --- ----------

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

Season 11

Dave Cowens John Wallace
Season 1982-83-
Team Milwaukee Bucks-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not Play-
more >>
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave Cowens 40 25.4 8.1 1.8 5.0 6.9 2.1 0.8 0.4 1.1 3.4 3.4 7.7 .444 0.0 0.1 .000 1.3 1.6 .825
John Wallace ------- --- ----------
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF FGM / A % 3PM / A % FTM / A %
Dave Cowens ------- --- ----------
John Wallace ------- --- ----------