The Cowens MVP

1984 Lookback at Cowens 1973 MVP Season

The world was different 11 years ago. No fancy dinner at the NBA meetings with one of those "And-the-winner-is . . . " formats. Just, well, let the last Celtic MVP honoree before Larry Bird tell the story.

"I was sitting in the locker room before a game late in the season and someone walked in and handed me a basketball that had MVP' written on it. That's how I found out I was the league's most valuable player," Dave Cowens explains.

There was a week to go in the 1972-73 regular season when Cowens learned of his honor. The prize was the Podoloff Cup (after Maurice Podoloff, the league's first commissioner). Writers and broadcasters vote now, but the players chose the MVP in those days. People cared, to be sure, but the league had not yet developed a legitimate sense of public relations. And so Dave Cowens was "honored" in the locker room.

Of course, a locker room was the appropriate place to honor Cowens, a man who was never solicitous of public praise. All he ever wanted was a gymnasium, a set of teammates and the highest quality opponents he could find. Coaches, fans and press were optional.

The 1972-73 season was Cowens' third in the league. Two seasons earlier he had shared Rookie of the Year honors with Portland's Geoff Petrie. In his second season he established himself as a consistently great center, 6 feet 8 or no 6 feet 8. By Year 3 he was ready to explode.

"All I remember," Cowens recalls, "is sitting down at Buzzards Bay waiting to start. I was in good shape. I felt good. I knew I was ready. But I wasn't projecting anything like an MVP season. I never thought that way."

The Celtics had made an important addition prior to that season. Paul Silas, merely the meanest, toughest rebounding and defensively-oriented forward in the league, had come to town. His effect on Cowens' game was dramatic.

"Silas was our missing ingredient," says Cowens. "We helped each other on the boards. He freed me up to go outside more without worrying about rebounding all the time. When you get a guy like that who can rebound and play defense, the rest is all BS. Look at the Celtics and Lakers. In the seven games it all came down to rebounding and defense. They threw the other crap out of the window and got down to the guts of the game."

By that third season Cowens was ready to terrorize the NBA. He still had all the enthusiasm of youth, but by now he had the experience of nearly 200 NBA games. In addition, he also enjoyed the respect of the officials (hence, he could assault people regularly without fear of fouling out).

In the home opener he hit the defending champion Lakers for 26 points and 24 rebounds in a Celtics triumph. That started a fairy tale season in which Cowens would become the embodiment of the so-called "New Celtics," a fast- breaking, aggressive team that would win a team-record 68 games.

As the season progressed, the Cowens fan club grew.

Said Detroit coach Earl Lloyd: "He's unselfish. He creates so many problems for us. He's willing to run hard downcourt every single time in order to get that one basket on the trailer a period. He does the dirty work. He hits both boards and he runs."

Terry Dischinger of the Trail Blazers: "His big improvement is on offense. He has really become a good offensive center, and they can go to him. He wasn't that consistent before."

Satch Sanders: "I could see during his rookie year that other centers were not going to be able to handle Cowens, and that all we needed was time to get the whole thing together."

Jerry West: "The thing about Cowens is how he fits into what they want to do."

It was a dream collaboration, not only between Cowens and his teammates, but between Cowens and the Boston crowd. There is little doubt that Cowens excited the fans in an unprecedented manner. They thrilled to the nightly David-Goliath scenario, understanding that in order to be great Cowens had to work as hard against Lloyd Neal as he did against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. And they knew Cowens would always give them an honest effort.

Cowens' great season rolled on and on. He burned the Knicks for 38 points and 20 rebounds the day after Christmas. Night after night he just destroyed people. There was an afternoon against the Bullets when he had 29 rebounds working against the tandem of Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. After that game, Bullets coach Gene Shue (Yes, kiddies, the same Gene Shue who's there today) was asked how great Kareem or Bob Lanier would be if they played as hard as Cowens.

"What you must understand," said Shue, "is that hustle is part of ability." Which made Cowens the most talented player in the league.

Cowens' name surfaced early as an MVP candidate, and when the balloting was complete he had beaten out Abdul-Jabbar and Tiny Archibald.

"I always say the same thing," he declares. "It's nice to have another entry on your basketball resume or portfolio. I was Rookie of the Year and MVP in an All-Star Game (1973) and MVP in the league. As the team developed, I developed."

As for Bird, who is Cowens' spiritual descendant in many ways, Cowens has only the highest praise. "There's no doubt in my mind," Cowens says. "The guy is the best player around. He is the consummate ballplayer."

Cowens never won another MVP award. But he continued to win ballgames. He also kept winning hearts. Larry Bird is unquestionably the best all-around player we've ever had here. But nobody ever "got to the guts" of basketball the way Cowens did. Not here, not anywhere.