Jimmy Butler vs. Dave Cowens Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dave Cowens and Jimmy Butler, 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.

Jimmy Butler played 15 years in the NBA, 4 more than Dave Cowens, who played 11. Jimmy Butler had the first of his seasons in 2011-12, while Dave Cowens had his rookie season in 1970-71. 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.

Rookie Season
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2011-12	1970-71
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Jimmy Butler	42	8.5	2.6	0.5	0.8	1.3	0.3	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.5	0.8	1.9	.405	0.0	0.3	.182	1.0	1.3	.768
difference:	+39	+29.5	+14.4			+13.7	+2.5				-3.8	+6.0	+14.2	+.017				+2.4	+3.3	+.036
Dave Cowens	81	38.0	17.0	-	-	15.0	2.8	-	-	-	4.3	6.8	16.1	.422	-	-	-	3.4	4.6	.732
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	3	1.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2012-13	1971-72
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	82	26.0	8.6	1.7	2.3	4.0	1.4	1.0	0.4	0.8	1.2	2.9	6.2	.467	0.5	1.3	.381	2.3	2.8	.803
difference:	+3	+14.3	+10.2			+11.2	+1.7				-2.8	+5.4	+11.0	+.017				+0.1	+0.3	+.083
Dave Cowens	79	40.3	18.8	-	-	15.2	3.1	-	-	-	4.0	8.3	17.2	.484	-	-	-	2.2	3.1	.720
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	12	40.8	13.3	0.8	4.4	5.2	2.7	1.3	0.5	1.3	2.2	4.2	9.6	.435	1.3	3.1	.405	3.8	4.6	.818
difference:	+1	+0.7	+2.2			+8.6	+0.3				-2.3	+2.3	+4.6	+.020				+1.3	+0.3	+.222
Dave Cowens	11	40.1	15.5	-	-	13.8	3.0	-	-	-	4.5	6.5	14.2	.455	-	-	-	2.5	4.3	.596

Season 3
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2013-14	1972-73
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	67	38.7	13.1	1.3	3.6	4.9	2.6	1.9	0.5	1.5	1.6	4.1	10.3	.397	1.0	3.6	.283	3.9	5.0	.769
difference:	+15	+3.1	+7.4			+11.3	+1.5				-2.2	+4.9	+9.7	+.055				+1.4	+1.8	+.010
Dave Cowens	82	41.8	20.5	-	-	16.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.0	20.0	.452	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.779
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	5	43.6	13.6	1.2	4.0	5.2	2.2	1.2	0.0	0.6	2.6	4.4	11.4	.386	1.2	4.0	.300	3.6	4.6	.783
difference:	+8	+2.4	+8.3			+11.4	+1.5				-1.6	+5.5	+9.6	+.087				+1.5	+1.4	+.124
Dave Cowens	13	46.0	21.9	-	-	16.6	3.7	-	-	-	4.2	9.9	21.0	.473	-	-	-	2.1	3.2	.659

Season 4
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2014-15	1973-74
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	Most Improved Player	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis	NBA Champion

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	65	38.7	20.0	1.8	4.1	5.8	3.3	1.8	0.6	1.4	1.7	6.5	14.0	.462	1.1	3.0	.378	5.9	7.1	.834
difference:	+15	+3.2	+1.0	+1.5	+8.3	+9.9	+1.1	+0.6	+0.7		-2.0	+1.6	+4.4	+.025				+3.0	+3.7	+.002
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	12	42.2	22.9	1.5	4.1	5.6	3.2	2.4	0.8	1.8	2.3	7.8	17.8	.441	2.3	6.0	.389	4.9	6.0	.819
difference:	+6	+0.7	+2.4	+1.8	+5.9	+7.7	+0.5	+1.2	+0.1		-2.4	+1.1	+2.8	+.006				+2.3	+2.7	+.022
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

Season 5
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2015-16	1974-75
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	All-Defensive Second Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	67	36.9	20.9	1.2	4.2	5.3	4.8	1.6	0.6	2.0	1.9	7.0	15.4	.454	1.0	3.1	.312	5.9	7.1	.832
difference:	+2	+3.6	+0.5	+2.3	+7.0	+9.4	+0.2	+0.3	+0.5		-1.8	+1.8	+3.0	+.021				+3.0	+3.3	+.049
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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

Season 6
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2016-17	1975-76
Team	Chicago Bulls	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-NBA Third Team	-
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	76	37.0	23.9	1.7	4.5	6.2	5.5	1.9	0.4	2.1	1.5	7.5	16.5	.455	1.2	3.3	.367	7.7	8.9	.865
difference:	+2	+2.8	+4.9	+2.6	+7.2	+9.8	+1.3	+0.7	+0.5		-2.5	+0.3	+0.2	+.013				+4.4	+4.5	+.109
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	6	39.8	22.7	1.5	5.8	7.3	4.3	1.7	0.8	2.5	1.7	7.7	18.0	.426	1.0	3.8	.261	6.3	7.8	.809
difference:	+12	+4.5	+1.7	+3.3	+5.8	+9.1	+0.3	+0.5	+0.1		-3.0	+1.0	+0.9	+.031				+2.6	+3.0	+.050
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

Season 7
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2017-18	1976-77
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Timberwolves Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Jimmy Butler	59	36.7	22.2	1.3	4.0	5.3	4.9	2.0	0.4	1.8	1.3	7.4	15.6	.474	1.2	3.4	.350	6.2	7.2	.854
difference:	+9	+1.1	+5.8	+1.6	+7.0	+8.6	+0.1	+1.1	+0.6		-2.3	+0.8	+0.5	+.040				+3.0	+3.2	+.036
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	5	34.0	15.8	0.6	5.4	6.0	4.0	0.8	0.2	1.0	1.8	5.6	12.6	.444	1.6	3.4	.471	3.0	3.6	.833
difference:	+4	+8.1	+0.8	+2.6	+6.3	+8.9		+0.1	+1.2		-2.3	+1.7	+3.8	+.002				+1.1	+1.2	+.060
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

Season 8
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2018-19	1977-78
Team	Minnesota Timberwolves, Philadelphia 76ers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	76ers Lost East Conf Semis	Did Not Play

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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		%
Jimmy Butler	65	33.6	18.7	1.9	3.4	5.3	4.0	1.9	0.6	1.5	1.7	6.4	13.9	.462	1.0	3.0	.347	4.8	5.6	.855
difference:	+12	+8.2	+0.1	+1.3	+7.4	+8.7	+0.6	+0.6	+0.3	-1.3	-2.2	+1.4	+1.9	+.028				+1.7	+1.9	+.013
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	12	35.1	19.4	1.8	4.2	6.0	5.2	1.5	0.6	1.8	1.7	6.6	14.6	.451	1.0	3.8	.267	5.3	6.0	.875
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2019-20	1978-79
Team	Miami Heat	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Jimmy Butler	58	33.8	19.9	1.8	4.8	6.7	6.0	1.8	0.6	2.2	1.4	5.9	13.1	.455	0.5	2.1	.244	7.6	9.1	.834
difference:	+10	+3.2	+3.3	+0.4	+2.6	+2.9	+2.4	+0.7	+0.2	-0.4	-2.5	+1.3	+1.8	+.028				+5.4	+6.3	+.027
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	21	38.4	22.2	2.2	4.3	6.5	6.0	2.0	0.7	2.8	1.8	6.9	14.0	.488	0.7	2.0	.349	7.8	9.1	.859
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2020-21	1979-80
Team	Miami Heat	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Third Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	All-Defensive Second Team
	Steals Leader	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Jimmy Butler	52	33.6	21.5	1.8	5.1	6.9	7.1	2.1	0.3	2.1	1.4	7.0	14.2	.497	0.5	2.0	.245	6.9	8.0	.863
difference:	+14	+0.9	+7.3	+0.1	+1.1	+1.2	+4.0	+1.1	+0.6	-0.5	-1.9	+0.6	+0.1	+.044	+0.5	+1.8	+.162	+5.5	+6.2	+.084
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	4	38.5	14.5	1.5	6.0	7.5	7.0	1.3	0.3	2.3	1.5	4.8	16.0	.297	1.0	3.8	.267	4.0	5.5	.727
difference:	+5	+5.1	+2.5	+0.5	+0.7	+0.2	+4.7	+0.3	+0.5	-1.4	-2.6	+0.6	+4.6	+.179	+1.0	+3.6	+.267	+2.9	+4.3	+.182
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

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

Season 11
	Jimmy Butler	Dave Cowens
Season	2021-22	1982-83
Team	Miami Heat	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Finals	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		%
Jimmy Butler	57	33.9	21.4	1.8	4.1	5.9	5.5	1.6	0.5	2.1	1.5	7.0	14.5	.480	0.5	2.0	.233	6.9	8.0	.870
difference:	+17	+8.5	+13.3		+0.9	+1.0	+3.4	+0.8	+0.1	-1.0	-1.9	+3.6	+6.8	+.036	+0.5	+1.9	+.233	+5.6	+6.4	+.045
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
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Jimmy Butler	17	37.0	27.4	2.4	4.9	7.4	4.6	2.1	0.6	1.5	1.5	9.8	19.3	.506	1.4	4.0	.338	6.5	7.8	.841
Dave Cowens	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional Years
* Jimmy Butler played 4 seasons more than Dave Cowens in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 12 to 15, from 2023 to 2026—Jimmy Butler played in two Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Dave Cowens, Jimmy Butler got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-NBA Second Team