Dave Cowens vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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, 1 less than Ricky Rubio, who played 12. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Ricky Rubio had his rookie season in 2011-12. 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
Ricky Rubio	12	3	2011-12 to 2022-23

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


Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1970-71	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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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:	+40	+3.8	+6.4			+10.8	+5.4				-1.9	+3.4	+6.6	+.065				+0.3	+0.8	+.071
Ricky Rubio	41	34.2	10.6	0.5	3.7	4.2	8.2	2.2	0.2	3.2	2.4	3.4	9.5	.357	0.8	2.3	.340	3.1	3.8	.803

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dave Cowens nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1971-72	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did not play

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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:	+22	+10.6	+8.1			+11.2	+4.2				-1.5	+5.1	+8.2	+.124				+1.5	+1.5	+.079
Ricky Rubio	57	29.7	10.7	0.8	3.2	4.0	7.3	2.4	0.1	3.0	2.5	3.2	9.0	.360	0.5	1.6	.293	3.7	4.6	.799

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1972-73	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game MVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did not play

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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:		+9.6	+11.0			+12.0	+4.5				-1.1	+5.9	+11.8	+.071				+0.3	+0.3	+.023
Ricky Rubio	82	32.2	9.5	0.7	3.4	4.2	8.6	2.3	0.1	2.7	2.7	3.1	8.2	.381	0.5	1.6	.331	2.8	3.5	.802

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1973-74	2014-15
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did not play

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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:	+58	+10.4	+8.7	+2.4	+7.6	+10.0	+4.4	+0.5	+1.3		-1.0	+4.6	+8.4	+.081				+0.3	+0.2	+.029
Ricky Rubio	22	31.5	10.3	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.8	1.7	0.0	2.9	2.7	3.5	10.0	.356	0.6	2.3	.255	2.6	3.2	.803

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1974-75	2015-16
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Did not play

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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:	+11	+9.9	+10.3	+3.0	+7.4	+10.4	+4.1	+0.8	+1.0		-1.1	+5.9	+10.7	+.101				+0.6	+0.3	+.064
Ricky Rubio	76	30.6	10.1	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.7	2.1	0.1	2.5	2.6	2.9	7.7	.374	0.8	2.5	.326	3.5	4.1	.847

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1975-76	2016-17
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did not play

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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:	+3	+6.9	+7.9	+3.4	+8.5	+11.9	+4.9	+0.5	+0.8		-1.3	+4.3	+8.0	+.066				+0.1	+0.6	+.135
Ricky Rubio	75	32.9	11.1	0.9	3.2	4.1	9.1	1.7	0.1	2.6	2.7	3.5	8.7	.402	0.8	2.6	.306	3.4	3.8	.891

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1976-77	2017-18
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Jazz Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+27	+8.5	+3.3	+2.3	+7.0	+9.3	+0.3	+0.7	+0.9		-0.9	+2.1	+4.4	+.016				+0.3	+0.7	+.048
Ricky Rubio	77	29.3	13.1	0.6	4.0	4.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.7	2.7	4.5	10.7	.418	1.2	3.5	.352	2.9	3.3	.866

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:	+3	+11.9	+2.6	+2.4	+5.2	+7.6	+3.0	+0.4	+0.9		-1.9	+2.6	+3.2	+.092				+1.1	+1.4	+.010
Ricky Rubio	6	30.2	14.0	0.8	6.5	7.3	7.0	1.3	0.5	3.0	2.2	4.7	13.2	.354	1.7	5.3	.313	3.0	3.8	.783


Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1977-78	2018-19
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did not play	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+9	+13.9	+5.9	+2.7	+7.7	+10.4	+1.5		+0.8	-0.2	-1.3	+3.5	+5.1	+.086				+0.2	+0.3	+.013
Ricky Rubio	68	27.9	12.7	0.5	3.1	3.6	6.1	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.6	4.3	10.7	.404	1.2	3.7	.311	2.9	3.4	.855

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ricky Rubio	5	33.6	15.4	0.6	2.6	3.2	8.6	2.4	0.2	3.0	2.8	5.6	13.2	.424	0.8	4.0	.200	3.4	4.0	.850


Season 9
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1978-79	2019-20
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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9th 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	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:	+3	+6.0	+3.6	+1.5	+3.4	+4.9	+5.2	+0.3	+0.6	-0.1	-1.3	+2.8	+4.3	+.068				+0.8	+0.7	+.056
Ricky Rubio	65	31.0	13.0	0.7	4.0	4.7	8.8	1.4	0.2	2.7	2.6	4.4	10.6	.415	1.2	3.3	.361	3.0	3.5	.863

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dave Cowens nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 9


Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1979-80	2020-21
Team	Boston Celtics	Minnesota Timberwolves
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	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:	+2	+6.6	+5.6	+1.5	+3.3	+4.8	+3.3	+0.4	+0.8		-1.3	+3.6	+6.8	+.065	+1.0	+2.9	+.225	+0.5	+0.4	+.088
Ricky Rubio	68	26.1	8.6	0.4	2.9	3.3	6.4	1.4	0.1	1.6	2.0	2.8	7.3	.388	1.0	3.1	.308	1.9	2.2	.867

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
Ricky Rubio	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 11
	Dave Cowens	Ricky Rubio
Season	1982-83	2021-22
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Cleveland Cavaliers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did not play	Did not play

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11th 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	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
difference:	+6	+3.1	+5.0	+1.4	+1.3	+2.8	+4.5	+0.6	+0.2	-1.5	-1.2	+1.0	+4.4	+.081	+1.7	+5.0	+.339	+1.3	+1.4	+.029
Ricky Rubio	34	28.5	13.1	0.4	3.7	4.1	6.6	1.4	0.2	2.6	2.2	4.4	12.1	.363	1.7	5.1	.339	2.6	3.0	.854

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Dave Cowens nor Ricky Rubio played in the postseason in their season 11

Additional Years

* Ricky Rubio played 1 season more than Dave Cowens in the NBA.

In that period—his season 12 in 2023—Ricky Rubio played in the Playoffs.

Dave Cowens vs. Ricky Rubio Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ricky Rubio 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years