Dave Cowens vs. Dale Ellis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dale Ellis 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, 6 less than Dale Ellis, who played 17. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Dale Ellis had his rookie season in 1983-84. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Dave Cowens	11	7	1970-71 to 1982-83
Dale Ellis	17	10	1983-84 to 1999-00

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17


Rookie Season
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1970-71	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
Honors & Awards	All-Rookie First Team	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Mavericks Lost West 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	81	38.0	17.0	-	-	15.0	2.8	-	-	-	4.3	6.8	16.1	.422	-	-	-	3.4	4.6	.732
Dale Ellis	67	15.8	8.2	1.6	2.1	3.7	0.8	0.6	0.1	1.2	1.8	3.4	7.4	.456	0.2	0.4	.414	1.3	1.8	.719

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	8	22.3	7.4	2.4	2.9	5.3	0.5	1.3	0.3	0.6	2.1	3.3	10.0	.325	0.1	1.5	.083	0.8	1.0	.750


Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1971-72	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks Lost West 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	79	40.3	18.8	-	-	15.2	3.1	-	-	-	4.0	8.3	17.2	.484	-	-	-	2.2	3.1	.720
Dale Ellis	72	18.3	9.3	1.4	1.9	3.3	0.8	0.6	0.1	0.8	1.8	3.8	8.4	.454	0.6	1.5	.385	1.1	1.4	.740

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
Dale Ellis	4	17.0	5.8	1.0	0.8	1.8	0.8	1.0	0.0	1.0	0.8	2.5	5.8	.435	0.5	1.3	.400	0.3	0.5	.500


Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1972-73	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Mavericks Lost West 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	82	41.8	20.5	-	-	16.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.0	20.0	.452	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.779
Dale Ellis	72	15.1	7.1	1.2	1.1	2.3	0.5	0.6	0.1	0.5	1.1	2.7	6.5	.411	0.9	2.4	.364	0.8	1.1	.720

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
Dale Ellis	7	9.6	4.3	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.6	0.9	1.3	3.1	.409	1.0	1.7	.583	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1973-74	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	-	Most Improved Player
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics Lost West 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	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
Dale Ellis	82	37.5	24.9	2.3	3.2	5.5	2.9	1.3	0.4	2.9	3.3	9.6	18.5	.516	1.0	2.9	.358	4.7	6.0	.787

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
Dale Ellis	14	37.9	25.2	2.6	3.8	6.4	2.6	0.7	0.4	2.4	3.9	10.6	21.7	.487	0.9	2.6	.361	3.1	3.9	.815


Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1974-75	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Supersonics Lost West 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	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
Dale Ellis	75	37.2	25.8	2.2	2.3	4.5	2.6	1.0	0.1	2.3	2.9	10.2	20.3	.503	1.4	3.5	.413	4.0	5.3	.767

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
Dale Ellis	5	34.4	20.8	2.2	2.4	4.6	3.0	0.6	0.4	2.4	3.4	8.0	16.6	.482	0.6	2.4	.250	4.2	5.8	.724


Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1975-76	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Supersonics Lost West 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	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
Dale Ellis	82	38.9	27.5	1.9	2.3	4.2	2.0	1.3	0.3	2.7	2.4	10.5	20.9	.501	2.0	4.1	.478	4.6	5.6	.816

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
Dale Ellis	8	38.0	22.9	1.8	2.3	4.0	1.3	1.4	0.1	2.6	2.4	9.0	20.0	.450	1.9	4.6	.405	3.0	4.1	.727


Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1976-77	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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	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
Dale Ellis	55	37.0	23.5	1.6	2.7	4.3	2.0	1.1	0.1	2.2	2.3	9.1	18.4	.497	1.7	4.7	.375	3.5	4.3	.818

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
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1977-78	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
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	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
Dale Ellis	51	27.9	16.8	1.3	2.1	3.4	1.9	1.0	0.2	1.6	2.2	6.7	14.1	.474	1.1	3.1	.363	2.4	3.3	.723

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1978-79	1991-92
Team	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards
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	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
Dale Ellis	81	27.0	15.7	1.1	2.0	3.1	1.3	0.7	0.2	1.5	1.9	6.0	12.8	.469	1.7	4.1	.419	2.0	2.6	.774

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1979-80	1992-93
Team	Boston Celtics	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Spurs Lost West 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	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
Dale Ellis	82	33.3	16.7	1.0	2.8	3.8	1.3	1.0	0.2	1.4	2.2	6.6	13.3	.499	1.5	3.6	.401	1.9	2.4	.797

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
Dale Ellis	10	30.5	12.5	0.9	2.6	3.5	1.1	0.4	0.0	1.0	2.5	5.1	11.3	.451	1.0	3.2	.313	1.3	1.6	.813

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


Season 11
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	1982-83	1993-94
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Dale Ellis	77	33.6	15.2	0.9	2.4	3.3	1.0	0.9	0.1	1.0	1.8	6.2	12.6	.494	1.7	4.3	.395	1.1	1.4	.776

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	4	28.5	10.5	0.8	1.8	2.5	0.3	0.8	0.0	1.0	1.5	4.3	10.8	.395	1.3	4.3	.294	0.8	1.3	.600


Season 12
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1994-95
Team	-	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	81	24.6	11.3	0.7	2.0	2.7	0.7	0.5	0.1	1.0	1.8	4.3	9.6	.453	1.3	3.2	.403	1.4	1.6	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	3	24.3	12.0	2.0	2.7	4.7	1.0	0.7	0.3	0.7	2.0	3.3	9.3	.357	1.3	4.3	.308	4.0	4.3	.923


Season 13
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1995-96
Team	-	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	81	32.4	14.9	1.1	2.8	3.9	1.7	0.7	0.1	1.2	2.4	5.7	11.8	.479	1.9	4.5	.412	1.7	2.2	.760

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1996-97
Team	-	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	82	35.9	16.6	1.2	2.4	3.6	2.0	0.7	0.1	1.8	2.2	5.8	14.0	.414	2.3	6.4	.364	2.6	3.2	.817

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 15
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1997-98
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Supersonics Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	79	24.5	11.8	0.6	1.7	2.3	1.1	0.8	0.1	0.9	1.6	4.4	8.9	.497	1.6	3.5	.464	1.4	1.8	.782

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	10	17.2	5.6	0.4	0.9	1.3	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.2	1.0	2.0	5.3	.377	1.1	2.6	.423	0.5	0.6	.833


Season 16
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1998-99
Team	-	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	48	25.7	10.3	0.5	1.9	2.4	0.8	0.5	0.1	0.9	1.6	3.6	8.2	.441	2.0	4.5	.433	1.1	1.5	.757

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 17
	Dave Cowens	Dale Ellis
Season	-	1999-00
Team	-	Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	42	13.4	4.2	0.3	1.0	1.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.5	1.1	1.6	3.8	.415	0.9	2.4	.370	0.2	0.3	.692

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Dale Ellis	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Dave Cowens vs. Dale Ellis Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dale Ellis 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15

Season 16

Season 17