Dave Cowens vs. Steve Nash Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Nash 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, 7 less than Steve Nash, who played 18. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Steve Nash 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 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
Steve Nash	18	12	1996-97 to 2013-14

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


Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1970-71	1996-97
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Suns Lost West 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:	+16	+27.5	+13.7			+14.0	+0.7				-2.9	+5.7	+13.4	+.001				+2.8	+3.8	+.092
Steve Nash	65	10.5	3.3	0.2	0.7	1.0	2.1	0.3	0.0	1.0	1.4	1.1	2.7	.423	0.4	0.8	.418	0.6	0.8	.824

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	4	3.8	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.5	1.3	0.5	2.3	.222	0.3	1.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1971-72	1997-98
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+18.4	+9.7			+13.1	+0.3				-2.1	+4.8	+9.5	+.025				+1.2	+2.0	+.140
Steve Nash	76	21.9	9.1	0.4	1.7	2.1	3.4	0.8	0.1	1.3	1.9	3.5	7.7	.459	1.1	2.6	.415	1.0	1.1	.860

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:	+7	+27.3	+10.0			+11.3	+1.2				-2.7	+4.5	+9.7	+.011				+1.2	+2.3	+.029
Steve Nash	4	12.8	5.5	0.5	2.0	2.5	1.8	0.5	0.0	0.8	1.8	2.0	4.5	.444	0.3	1.3	.200	1.3	2.0	.625


Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1972-73	1998-99
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
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:	+42	+10.1	+12.6			+13.3	+1.4				-1.3	+6.1	+12.1	+.089				+1.5	+2.0	+.047
Steve Nash	40	31.7	7.9	0.8	2.1	2.9	5.5	0.9	0.1	2.1	2.5	2.9	7.9	.363	1.2	3.3	.374	1.0	1.2	.826

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
Steve Nash	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1973-74	1999-00
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
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:	+24	+14.5	+10.4	+2.7	+10.8	+13.5	+0.5	+0.5	+1.2		-1.5	+5.0	+11.9	+.040				+1.6	+1.9	+.050
Steve Nash	56	27.4	8.6	0.6	1.6	2.2	4.9	0.7	0.1	1.8	2.2	3.1	6.5	.477	1.1	2.7	.403	1.3	1.5	.882

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
Steve Nash	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1974-75	2000-01
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+5	+6.4	+4.8	+2.8	+8.7	+11.5	+2.7	+0.3	+1.0		-1.4	+3.3	+7.1	+.012				+0.4	+0.1	+.112
Steve Nash	70	34.1	15.6	0.7	2.5	3.2	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.9	2.3	5.5	11.3	.487	1.3	3.1	.406	3.3	3.7	.895

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:	+1	+6.5	+6.9	+3.9	+9.4	+13.3	+2.2	+1.0	+0.4		-2.6	+4.7	+10.7	+.011				+0.9	+1.0	+.003
Steve Nash	10	37.0	13.6	0.6	2.6	3.2	6.4	0.6	0.1	2.5	1.9	4.5	10.8	.417	1.6	3.9	.410	3.0	3.4	.882


Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1975-76	2001-02
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+4	+5.2	+1.1	+3.7	+9.2	+12.9	+3.5	+0.6	+0.9		-2.0	+1.4	+3.4	+.015				+0.1	+0.8	+.131
Steve Nash	82	34.6	17.9	0.6	2.5	3.1	7.7	0.6	0.0	2.8	2.0	6.4	13.3	.483	1.9	4.2	.455	3.2	3.6	.887

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:	+10	+3.8	+1.5	+3.9	+8.5	+12.4	+4.2	+0.7	+0.7		-2.2	+2.3	+4.1	+.025				+0.6	+0.4	+.212
Steve Nash	8	40.5	19.5	0.9	3.1	4.0	8.8	0.5	0.0	3.8	2.5	6.4	14.8	.432	2.5	5.6	.444	4.3	4.4	.971


Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1976-77	2002-03
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals

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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	+4.7	+1.3	+2.1	+8.9	+11.0	+2.3	+0.1	+0.9		-2.0	+0.3	+1.5	+.031				+0.6	+0.1	+.091
Steve Nash	82	33.1	17.7	0.8	2.1	2.9	7.3	1.0	0.1	2.3	1.6	6.3	13.6	.465	1.4	3.3	.413	3.8	4.1	.909

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:	+11	+5.7	+0.5	+2.4	+8.9	+11.4	+3.3		+1.3		-1.7	+1.5	+3.5	+.001				+0.9	+0.8	+.100
Steve Nash	20	36.4	16.1	0.8	2.8	3.5	7.3	0.9	0.1	2.6	2.4	5.8	12.9	.447	1.9	3.8	.487	2.8	3.2	.873


Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1977-78	2003-04
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks 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:	+1	+8.3	+4.1	+2.4	+8.6	+11.0	+4.2	+0.4	+0.8	-0.1	-2.1	+2.7	+5.0	+.020				+0.2	+0.5	+.074
Steve Nash	78	33.5	14.5	0.8	2.2	3.0	8.8	0.9	0.1	2.7	1.8	5.1	10.8	.470	1.3	3.3	.405	2.9	3.2	.916

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	5	39.2	13.6	1.2	4.0	5.2	9.0	0.8	0.0	2.4	2.8	5.4	14.0	.386	1.2	3.2	.375	1.6	1.8	.889


Season 9
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1978-79	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Suns Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+7	+2.7	+1.1	+1.4	+4.8	+6.3	+7.9	+0.1	+0.7	-0.7	-2.1	+1.5	+3.5	+.019				+0.6	+0.4	+.080
Steve Nash	75	34.3	15.5	0.8	2.6	3.3	11.5	1.0	0.1	3.3	1.8	5.7	11.4	.502	1.3	2.9	.431	2.8	3.2	.887

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	15	40.7	23.9	0.6	4.2	4.8	11.3	0.9	0.2	4.7	2.4	9.3	17.9	.520	1.4	3.6	.389	3.8	4.1	.919


Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1979-80	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Assists Leader
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Suns Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+13	+2.7	+4.6	+1.3	+2.6	+3.9	+7.4	+0.2	+0.7	-1.9	-1.8	+0.4	+0.7	+.059	+1.9	+4.1	+.356	+1.9	+1.7	+.142
Steve Nash	79	35.4	18.8	0.6	3.6	4.2	10.5	0.8	0.2	3.5	1.5	6.8	13.4	.512	1.9	4.3	.439	3.3	3.5	.921

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
difference:	+11	+6.5	+8.4	+1.5	+2.1	+3.6	+7.9	+0.6	+0.5	-2.5	-2.2	+1.9	+3.2	+.026	+1.6	+4.2	+.368	+3.1	+3.4	+.003
Steve Nash	20	39.9	20.4	0.5	3.2	3.7	10.2	0.4	0.3	3.4	1.9	7.3	14.6	.502	1.6	4.4	.368	4.2	4.6	.912

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


Season 11
	Dave Cowens	Steve Nash
Season	1982-83	2006-07
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+36	+9.9	+10.5	+1.4	+1.9	+3.4	+9.5		+0.3	-2.7	-1.9	+3.4	+5.1	+.088	+2.1	+4.4	+.455	+1.6	+1.7	+.074
Steve Nash	76	35.3	18.6	0.4	3.1	3.5	11.6	0.8	0.1	3.8	1.5	6.8	12.8	.532	2.1	4.5	.455	2.9	3.3	.899

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Nash	11	37.5	18.9	0.4	2.8	3.2	13.3	0.4	0.1	4.4	1.9	6.7	14.5	.463	1.7	3.5	.487	3.7	4.2	.891


Additional Years
* Steve Nash played 7 seasons more than Dave Cowens in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 18, from 2008 to 2014—Steve Nash played in 3 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Dave Cowens, Steve Nash got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-NBA Second Team 2 Assists Leader 3 All-Star Game

Dave Cowens vs. Steve Nash Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Steve Nash 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