Dave Cowens vs. Victor Wembanyama Season by Season Comparison
Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Victor Wembanyama 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, 9 more than Victor Wembanyama, who played 2. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Victor Wembanyama had his rookie season in 2023-24. 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 |
| Victor Wembanyama | 2 | 0 | 2023-24 to 2024-25 |
Rookie Season |
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| Dave Cowens | Victor Wembanyama | |
| Season | 1970-71 | 2023-24 |
| Team | Boston Celtics | San Antonio Spurs |
| Honors & Awards | - |  All-Defensive First Team |
| Rookie of the Year | Rookie of the Year | |
| All-Rookie First Team | All-Rookie First Team | |
| - | Blocks Leader | |
| Playoffs | Did Not Play | Did Not Play |
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: | +10 | +8.3 | +4.4 | +4.4 | +1.1 | -2.1 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +.043 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +.064 | ||||||||
| Victor Wembanyama | 71 | 29.7 | 21.4 | 2.3 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 7.8 | 16.7 | .465 | 1.8 | 5.5 | .325 | 4.1 | 5.2 | .796 |
| Playoffs Stats | ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Neiher Dave Cowens nor Victor Wembanyama played in the postseason in their season 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season 2 |
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| Dave Cowens | Victor Wembanyama | |
| Season | 1971-72 | 2024-25 |
| Team | Boston Celtics | San Antonio Spurs |
| Honors & Awards | - | Blocks Leader |
| All-Star Game | All-Star Game | |
| Playoffs | Celtics Lost East Conf Finals | Did Not Play |
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: | +33 | +7.1 | +5.5 | +4.2 | +0.6 | -1.7 | +0.6 | +1.4 | +.008 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +.116 | ||||||||
| Victor Wembanyama | 46 | 33.2 | 24.3 | 1.8 | 9.2 | 11.0 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 8.9 | 18.6 | .476 | 3.1 | 8.8 | .352 | 3.4 | 4.1 | .836 |
| 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 |
| Victor Wembanyama | DNP | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Additional Years |
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* Dave Cowens played 9 seasons more than Victor Wembanyama in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 3 to 11, from 1973 to 1983—Dave Cowens played in 6 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 9 extra years over Victor Wembanyama, Dave Cowens got these achievements: | |
| Honors & Awards | 1 Season MVP 3 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-Defensive First Team 2 All-Defensive Second Team 7 All-Star Game 1 All-Star Game MVP |