gold star for USAHOF

4. Bob Cousy

4. Bob Cousy

There aren’t too many times where a player becomes a Hall of Famer in a career with a team who never wanted him in the first place.

Serious.  The Celtics had the number 1 pick in the 1950 Draft, and they passed on Cousy, who was a local kid and a star at Holy Cross.  The Tri-Cities Blackhawks chose the Point Guard at number 3, but Cousy refused to report, and the NBA brokered him to the Chicago Stags, who subsequently folded.  Three Stags were made available for dispersal, Max Zaslofsky, Andy Phillip and Cousy, and the Celtics landed Cousy…who again they didn’t want.

Head Coach, Red Auerbach and Celtics owner Walter A. Brown would eat crow, but it must have tasted so good!

Cousy was an All-Star immediately, and he would repeat that accolade the next 12 years.  Cousy would get better and better where he had a 10-year run as a First Team All-NBA Selection (1951-52 to 1960-61), and in that stretch, he had eight years where he won the Assists Title.  In the midst of it, he was named the MVP for 1956-57.

Individual accolades are tremendous, but Cousy was a selfless player and with the addition of Bill Russell to captain the defense, the Celtics dynasty was born.  Cousy would become a six-time NBA Champion (1957 & 1959-63).  While Russell would become the star of those teams, those titles do not happen without “The Houdini of the Hardcourt.”

Cousy's #14 was retired immediately and he would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1971.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Point Guard
  • Acquired: Drafted by the Boston Celtics from the Chicago Stags in the Dispersal Draft 10/5/50.
  • Departed: Traded to the Cincinnati Royals for Bill Dinwiddie 11/18/69.
  • Games Played: 1270
  • Per Game Averages: 35.3 MP*
    N/A eFG%**
    .803 FT%
    18.5 PTS
    5.2 RB
    7.6 AST
    N/A STL***
    N/A BLK***

    109 Playoff Games
    38.5 MP*
    N/A eFG%**
    .801 FT%
    18.5 PTS
    5.0 RB
    8.6 AST
    N/A STL***
    N/A BLK***

    *Minutes Played were not logged until the 1951-52 Season.
    **eFG% was not a statistic when Cousy played.
    ***Steals and Blocks were not official stats when Cousy played.
  • Advanced Stats: 17.4 PER****
    .426 TS%
    N/A VORP*****
    91.0 WS

    108 Playoff Games
    19.9 PER****
    .446 TS%
    N/A VORP*****
    9.1 WS

    *****PER was not calculable in the 1950/51 Season.
    *****VORP was not calculated when Cousy played.
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    NBA Champion (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 & 1963)
    MVP (1957)
    First Team All-NBA (1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 & 1961)
    Second Team All-NBA (1962 & 1963)
    All-Star (1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 & 1963)
    All-Star Game MVP (1954 & 1957)
    Most Field Goal Attempts (1952-53)
    Most 2-Point Field Goal Attempts (1952-53)
    Most Assists (1952-53, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59 & 1959-60)
    Most Assists per Game (1952-53, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59 & 1959-60)
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