Historical Standing: Why Cowens Is the Best Value Championship Big

In the NBA's historical interior lineage, Dave Cowens occupies a unique spot: he is the ceiling a "short blue-collar center" could reach.

In talent he trailed Russell, Chamberlain and Kareem; in scoring explosion he was no elite. But in "using his tools to the limit," Cowens was nearly a model. The 4th pick, 6-foot-9, ultimately yielded two rings, one FMVP and a Hall of Fame—a return-on-investment rarely matched among championship bigs.

More important was the winning method he defined. Cowens showed the league a center need not rule by height, but can win with running, positioning and defensive IQ. That idea directly fed the later small-ball era—when the league began favoring switchable, mobile bigs, Cowens had demoed the whole package in the 1970s.

So judge Cowens not by the stat line alone. His standing lives in Boston's two-title defensive hardness, in the No. 18 retirement ceremony, and in the tribute of every undersized "effort-over-talent" big who followed. He is among the most underrated championship interiors—and the best value of them all.

Related Reading

• 1973 NBA MVP: Dave Cowens (Boston Celtics)
• Dave Cowens: Auerbach’s "Stolen" Small-Center, the Blue-Collar Core of the Celtics
• The 1974 Title: Beating Milwaukee in Seven, Cowens’ Repeat Run
• The Twin Core With Havlicek: Boston’s Handoff
• After Retirement: Cowens the Coach