David William Cowens (/ˈkaʊənz/ COW-ənz; born October 25, 1948)[1] is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach.

[3] In 2018, Cowens attended a ceremony at which the school dedicated its new gymnasium floor, styled in the parquet pattern of Boston Garden.

In that season also, Cowens scored 20 points, grabbed a career-high 32 rebounds and dished out 9 assists in a home win over the Houston Rockets.

Cowens and fellow Celtic Bill Russell both have the distinction of being named MVP of the league but not being included on the All-NBA First Team.

[citation needed] The following season, Cowens averaged 19.0 PPG, 15.7 RPG, 4.4 APG and 1.3 BPG while guiding the Celtics to a record of 56–26.

Cowens was instrumental in bringing the Celtics into the playoffs, where they defeated the Buffalo Braves in six games and the New York Knicks in five.

[7] Eight games into the 1976–77 season on November 10, 1976, and with the Celtics on a four-game losing streak, Cowens left the team for "undisclosed reasons".

Speculations included that Cowens was upset that the team didn't offer Paul Silas a new contract after the previous season and traded him to the Denver Nuggets.

Other speculations were that he was unhappy with coach Tom Heinsohn and also his involvement in a lawsuit from the previous season where he allegedly struck a fan during a game against the Houston Rockets.

[10][11] Cowens retired as a player in 1980, as Boston drafted Kevin McHale and traded for Robert Parish to replace him at center.

[12] "I have sprained my ankle at least 30 times over the duration of my career, broken both legs and fractured a foot," Cowens said upon retiring.

"Two years ago, a team of foot and bone specialists said they were amazed that I could play up to that point without sustaining serious injuries.

[14] Cowens' playing credo was all-out intensity at both ends of the court, a style that never wavered during his 11-year NBA career.

"He was quick, fast, strong and skilled, and played hard," Knicks Hall of Fame center Willis Reed said of Cowens.

[citation needed] As of the end of the 2018–19 season, Cowens ranked 27th overall for most point-rebound-assist triple-doubles by a center in NBA history.

[citation needed] As evidence to his all-around ability, only five other players (Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić)[citation needed] have led their teams in all five major statistical categories for a season: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals.

He accomplished the feat in the 1977–78 season, averaging 18.6 points, 14.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.3 steals as Boston finished 32–50.

[16] In October 2021, Cowens was again honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

[23] In 2005–06 Cowens was head coach of the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).