Dave Cowens vs. Bill Laimbeer Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bill Laimbeer 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, 3 less than Bill Laimbeer, who played 14. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Bill Laimbeer had his rookie season in 1980-81. 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: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14
Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1970-71	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers
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
Bill Laimbeer	81	30.4	9.8	3.3	5.3	8.6	2.7	0.7	1.0	1.6	4.1	4.2	8.3	.503	0.0	0.0	-	1.4	1.9	.765
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1971-72	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons
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
Bill Laimbeer	80	22.9	9.0	2.9	4.8	7.7	1.3	0.5	0.8	1.5	3.7	3.3	6.7	.494	0.1	0.2	.308	2.3	2.9	.793
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
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1972-73	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	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
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.0	13.6	3.4	8.7	12.1	3.2	0.6	1.4	2.1	3.9	5.3	10.7	.497	0.0	0.2	.154	3.0	3.8	.790
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
Bill Laimbeer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1973-74	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Bill Laimbeer	82	34.9	17.3	4.0	8.2	12.2	1.8	0.6	1.0	1.8	3.3	6.7	12.7	.530	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	4.5	.866
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
Bill Laimbeer	5	33.0	15.2	2.8	9.6	12.4	2.4	0.8	0.6	2.4	4.6	5.8	10.2	.569	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	4.0	.900

Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1974-75	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Pistons Lost East 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
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.3	17.5	3.6	8.8	12.4	1.9	0.8	0.9	1.6	3.8	7.3	14.4	.506	0.0	0.2	.222	3.0	3.7	.797
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
Bill Laimbeer	9	36.1	14.7	4.0	6.7	10.7	1.7	0.8	0.8	1.8	3.6	5.3	11.9	.449	0.0	0.2	.000	4.0	5.7	.706

Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1975-76	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.3	16.6	3.7	9.4	13.1	1.8	0.7	0.8	1.6	3.5	6.6	13.5	.492	0.0	0.2	.286	3.2	3.9	.834
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
Bill Laimbeer	4	42.0	22.5	5.0	9.0	14.0	0.3	0.5	0.8	2.0	4.8	8.5	17.0	.500	0.3	0.3	1.000	5.3	5.8	.913

Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1976-77	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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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
Bill Laimbeer	82	34.8	15.4	3.0	8.7	11.6	1.8	0.9	0.8	1.5	3.5	6.2	12.3	.501	0.1	0.3	.286	3.0	3.3	.894
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
Bill Laimbeer	15	36.2	12.3	2.0	8.4	10.4	2.5	1.0	0.8	1.3	3.5	5.6	10.9	.515	0.1	0.3	.200	1.0	1.6	.625

Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1977-78	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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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
Bill Laimbeer	82	35.3	13.5	2.0	8.1	10.1	2.4	0.8	1.0	1.7	3.5	5.5	11.3	.493	0.2	0.5	.333	2.3	2.6	.874
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Laimbeer	23	33.9	11.9	1.9	7.7	9.6	1.9	0.8	0.8	1.3	3.3	5.0	10.9	.456	0.2	0.7	.294	1.7	2.0	.889

Season 9
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1978-79	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

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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	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
Bill Laimbeer	81	32.6	13.7	1.7	7.9	9.6	2.2	0.6	1.2	1.6	3.2	5.5	11.1	.499	0.4	1.1	.349	2.2	2.6	.840
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bill Laimbeer	17	29.2	10.1	1.5	6.7	8.2	1.8	0.4	0.5	1.1	3.2	3.9	8.4	.465	0.9	2.5	.357	1.5	1.8	.806

Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Bill Laimbeer
Season	1979-80	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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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
Bill Laimbeer	81	33.0	12.1	2.0	7.6	9.6	2.1	0.7	1.0	1.2	3.4	4.7	9.7	.484	0.7	2.0	.361	2.0	2.4	.854
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
Bill Laimbeer	20	33.4	11.1	2.1	8.5	10.6	1.4	1.2	0.9	0.8	3.9	4.6	10.0	.457	0.8	2.2	.349	1.3	1.5	.862

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