Dave Cowens vs. Rich Kelley Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rich Kelley 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 and Rich Kelley both played 11 years in the NBA. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Rich Kelley had his rookie season in 1975-76. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11
Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1970-71	1975-76
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
Rich Kelley	75	17.9	7.0	2.6	4.5	7.0	2.1	0.7	0.8	-	2.8	2.5	5.1	.485	-	-	-	2.1	2.7	.776
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1971-72	1976-77
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Rich Kelley	76	19.8	6.9	2.8	5.0	7.7	2.7	0.6	0.8	-	3.2	2.4	5.1	.477	-	-	-	2.1	2.6	.792
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
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1972-73	1977-78
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Rich Kelley	82	25.8	10.2	3.0	6.2	9.3	2.8	1.1	1.6	2.7	3.6	3.7	7.3	.505	-	-	-	2.7	3.5	.779
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
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1973-74	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	New Orleans Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Rich Kelley	80	33.8	15.7	3.8	9.0	12.8	3.6	1.6	2.1	3.6	3.9	5.5	10.9	.506	-	-	-	4.7	5.7	.814
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
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1974-75	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	New Jersey Nets, Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Rich Kelley	80	23.0	8.8	2.5	3.9	6.4	2.2	1.0	1.2	2.5	3.4	2.9	6.1	.473	0.0	0.0	.000	3.1	3.9	.787
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
Rich Kelley	8	18.3	5.9	1.8	2.8	4.5	2.8	1.1	0.9	1.3	2.1	2.4	5.5	.432	0.0	0.1	.000	1.1	1.3	.900

Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1975-76	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Rich Kelley	81	20.8	7.0	1.6	3.8	5.4	3.5	1.0	0.8	2.6	2.6	2.4	4.8	.506	0.0	0.0	.000	2.2	2.9	.758
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
Rich Kelley	7	16.1	4.1	1.9	3.1	5.0	1.9	0.9	0.4	2.0	1.7	1.4	3.6	.400	0.0	0.1	.000	1.3	2.0	.643

Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1976-77	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Rich Kelley	81	23.4	7.9	2.1	4.1	6.1	3.6	0.8	0.9	3.0	3.6	2.9	6.2	.467	0.0	0.0	.000	2.1	2.8	.749
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
Rich Kelley	7	27.3	9.7	2.6	4.3	6.9	4.3	0.9	0.4	1.7	3.6	3.9	7.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.9	.700

Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1977-78	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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
Rich Kelley	70	19.2	5.7	1.9	3.9	5.8	2.0	0.8	0.6	1.7	3.2	1.9	4.2	.444	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.5	.811
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rich Kelley	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Rich Kelley
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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
Rich Kelley	77	16.6	3.8	1.5	3.0	4.5	1.6	0.5	0.4	1.6	2.9	1.3	2.8	.477	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.5	.750
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
Rich Kelley	9	19.3	5.4	2.8	3.6	6.3	1.6	0.8	0.6	1.6	3.6	2.0	4.2	.474	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.7	.867

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