Dave Cowens vs. Jameer Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jameer Nelson 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, 3 less than Jameer Nelson, who played 14. Dave Cowens had the first of his seasons in 1970-71, while Jameer Nelson had his rookie season in 2004-05. 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
Jameer Nelson	14	6	2004-05 to 2017-18

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	Jameer Nelson
Season	1970-71	2004-05
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	-	All-Rookie Second 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
Jameer Nelson	79	20.4	8.7	0.7	1.8	2.4	3.0	1.0	0.0	1.5	2.5	3.6	7.9	.455	0.6	1.8	.312	0.9	1.4	.682

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


Season 2
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1971-72	2005-06
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
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
Jameer Nelson	62	28.8	14.6	0.6	2.3	2.9	4.9	1.1	0.1	2.4	2.8	5.6	11.6	.483	1.1	2.7	.424	2.3	2.9	.779

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
Jameer Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1972-73	2006-07
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Magic 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	82	41.8	20.5	-	-	16.2	4.1	-	-	-	3.8	9.0	20.0	.452	-	-	-	2.5	3.2	.779
Jameer Nelson	77	30.3	13.0	0.6	2.4	3.1	4.3	0.9	0.1	2.4	2.9	4.9	11.4	.430	0.8	2.5	.335	2.4	2.9	.828

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
Jameer Nelson	4	32.3	14.3	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.3	0.8	0.0	2.3	4.8	5.3	12.5	.420	1.3	3.5	.357	2.5	2.8	.909


Season 4
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1973-74	2007-08
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Magic 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	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
Jameer Nelson	69	28.4	10.9	0.4	3.1	3.5	5.6	0.9	0.1	2.0	2.4	4.1	8.7	.469	0.9	2.2	.416	1.8	2.2	.828

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
Jameer Nelson	10	33.3	16.2	0.4	3.7	4.1	4.7	0.3	0.2	2.1	4.3	5.7	11.3	.504	2.0	4.1	.488	2.8	3.7	.757


Season 5
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1974-75	2008-09
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Magic 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	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
Jameer Nelson	42	31.2	16.7	0.5	3.0	3.5	5.4	1.2	0.1	2.0	2.9	6.4	12.6	.503	2.0	4.3	.453	2.0	2.3	.887

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
Jameer Nelson	5	18.0	3.8	0.2	1.2	1.4	2.8	0.2	0.0	1.4	0.6	1.6	4.6	.348	0.2	1.2	.167	0.4	0.8	.500


Season 6
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1975-76	2009-10
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Magic 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	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
Jameer Nelson	65	28.6	12.6	0.4	2.6	3.0	5.4	0.7	0.0	2.1	2.3	4.9	10.9	.449	1.3	3.5	.381	1.5	1.8	.845

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
Jameer Nelson	14	34.2	19.0	0.6	2.9	3.6	4.8	1.0	0.0	2.5	2.7	6.5	13.6	.479	2.4	6.0	.393	3.6	4.4	.823


Season 7
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1976-77	2010-11
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Magic 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	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
Jameer Nelson	76	30.5	13.1	0.5	2.5	3.0	6.0	1.0	0.0	2.6	2.8	4.9	11.0	.446	1.6	3.9	.401	1.7	2.1	.802

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
Jameer Nelson	6	36.0	13.2	1.2	3.0	4.2	5.0	2.0	0.0	1.3	2.3	5.2	13.7	.378	1.0	4.3	.231	1.8	2.3	.786


Season 8
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1977-78	2011-12
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Magic 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	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
Jameer Nelson	57	29.9	11.9	0.5	2.7	3.2	5.7	0.7	0.1	2.4	2.3	4.5	10.6	.427	1.5	4.1	.377	1.2	1.5	.807

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Dave Cowens	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jameer Nelson	5	36.4	15.6	0.2	3.6	3.8	6.6	0.8	0.2	2.0	2.6	5.8	14.8	.392	1.6	5.0	.320	2.4	3.2	.750


Season 9
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1978-79	2012-13
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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	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
Jameer Nelson	56	35.3	14.7	0.4	3.3	3.7	7.4	1.3	0.1	2.8	2.9	5.5	13.9	.392	2.2	6.3	.341	1.6	1.8	.873

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


Season 10
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1979-80	2013-14
Team	Boston Celtics	Orlando Magic
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	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	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
Jameer Nelson	68	32.0	12.1	0.4	3.0	3.4	7.0	0.8	0.1	2.4	2.1	4.3	11.0	.394	2.0	5.8	.348	1.4	1.6	.857

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
Jameer Nelson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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


Season 11
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	1982-83	2014-15
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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	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
Jameer Nelson	63	22.3	8.3	0.5	1.8	2.3	4.0	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.2	3.3	8.0	.407	1.4	4.1	.345	0.4	0.6	.667

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


Season 12
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	-	2015-16
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jameer Nelson	39	26.6	7.7	0.5	2.5	2.9	4.9	0.6	0.1	1.7	2.6	2.9	7.9	.368	1.1	3.7	.299	0.8	0.9	.857

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


Season 13
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	-	2016-17
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jameer Nelson	75	27.3	9.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	5.1	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.6	3.6	8.1	.444	1.4	3.6	.388	0.6	0.8	.714

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


Season 14
	Dave Cowens	Jameer Nelson
Season	-	2017-18
Team	-	New Orleans Pelicans, Detroit Pistons
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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Jameer Nelson	50	20.3	4.9	0.3	1.8	2.1	3.6	0.5	0.1	1.3	1.6	1.9	4.9	.389	0.8	2.5	.331	0.3	0.4	.800

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

Dave Cowens vs. Jameer Nelson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Jameer Nelson 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