Bob Cousy
Teams
Boston Celtics - 1950-63
Cincinnati Royals - 1969-70
Playoffs
Appearances - 13 (1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963)
Conference Finals - 10 (1953,1954,1955,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963)
NBA Finals - 7 (1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963)
Championships - 6 (1957,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963)
Awards and Honors
MVP - 1 (1953,1955,1957,1959)
Finals MVP - 0 (1957,1959)
All-NBA First Team - 10 (1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961)
All-NBA Second Team - 2 (1951,1961,1962,1963)
Hall of Fame - 1971
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Total Assists - #20
Assists Per Game - #21
League Leads
Total Assists (#1-1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1960, #2-1952, #3-1961,1962,1963, #4-1951)
Assists Per Game (#1-1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960, #2-1952, #3-1961,1962,1963, #4-1951)
Total Points (#2-1954, #3-1952,1953,1955)
Points Per Game (#2-1954,1955, #3-1952, #4-1953)
Free Throw Percentage (#3-1958, #4-1956,1959)
After averaging 19.4 points per game as a senior at Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, Bob Cousy was drafted by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks with the #3 overall pick in the NBA Draft. He did not to play for them, so they released his rights, which were then picked up by the Chicago Stags, who then folded before he was able to play for them. He was then awarded to the Boston Celtics in a dispersal draft.
As a rookie, Cousy was already a solid player, averaging 15.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, and was able to lead the Celtics to the playoffs for just the second time in their history, but they lost in the first round to the Knicks. The next season he averaged 21.7 points per game and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the first of 10 straight seasons, but the Celtics lost to the Knicks in the first round again.
In his third season, he led the league in assists with 7.7 per game, the first of 8 straight seasons winning that crown, and also averaged 19.8 points and 6.3 rebounds. The MVP award did not exist yet, but Cousy would have been my choice to win it that year, as the assist leader and #3 in scoring in the league. He also got them through the first round of the playoffs, scoring 50 points in a 4-overtime final game of the series, before losing to the Knicks in the Conference Finals.
His averages dipped slightly the next year to 19.2 points and 7.2 assists, but that was still good enough for the assist title, but Syracuse beat the Celtics in the Conference Finals. In 1955, he averaged 21.2 points, #2 in the league, 6.0 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game, which would have earned him his second MVP if the award existed, but Syracuse stopped them in the Conference Finals again.
After a first-round playoff exit in 1956, the Celtics added Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell in the offseason. This gave the Celtics the inside presence they needed, and Cousy won the MVP, which had been created the year before, with averages of 20.6 points and 7.5 assists. In the playoffs, the Celtics were finally able to reach their first-ever NBA Finals, where they beat the Hawks in 7 games, behind Cousy's averages of 20.7 points and 9.1 assists, which would have earned him a Finals MVP if it had existed.
Boston returned to the Finals the next year for a rematch with the Hawks, but after Russell went down with a foot injury in Game 3, the Celtics fell in 6 games, ending their bid for a repeat, but it would be the last time Cousy lost a playoff series.
Cousy had another great year in 1958-59, averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 8.6 assists, but lost the MVP to Bob Pettit. During that season, Cousy set a record that would last for years when he recorded 28 assists in a game, and the 19 assists he had in a half in that game is still a record today. The Celtics advanced to the Finals for the third straight year, and Cousy averaged 16.8 points and 12.8 assists in a 4-game sweep of the Lakers, which would have been good enough for a second Finals MVP.
The next year he led the league in assists for the 8th and final time, with a career high 9.5 per game, and they faced the Hawks in the Finals for the 3rd time in 4 years, winning the series in 7 games. By this point, Russell had taken over as the team's superstar, though Cousy was still the team's second-best player and a big part of the reason they won.
Cousy played 3 more years with the Celtics, with his scoring and assist averages starting to slip a bit each year, finishing #3 in the league in assists each season. He played better in the playoffs than the regular season each year, and was able to earn 3 more championships, bringing his career total to 6, before retiring at the end of the 1963 Finals. He made a brief comeback 7 years later as a player-coach for Cincinnati, scoring 5 points in 7 total games.
Cousy is well-known for leading the league in assists, doing it in 8 straight seasons, a record that stood for decades before John Stockton did it for 9. He was the first flashy player in the league, well-known for dribbling behind the back and passing on the run, and he was nicknamed the "Houdini of the Hardwood" for his playing style. He won an MVP and should have won a couple more, and was the best player on the first 2 championships of the Celtics dynasty, and is one of the greatest to ever play the game.
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