This 1976 Dave Cowens Topps Trading Card #131 is the exact item you will receive and has been certified Authentic by REM Fine Collectibles.
David William Cowens ( born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m), he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. He was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens won NBA championships as a member of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Cowens has also held coaching positions in the NBA, CBA, and WNBA.
During his NBA career, Cowens averaged a double-double of 17.6 points and 13.6 rebounds. with 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 766 career NBA games. Cowens was selected to eight All-Star Games, was named to the All-NBA Second Team three times, and was named to the All-NBA Defensive First Team in 1976 and All-NBA Defensive Second Team in 1973 and 1980. He was a member of the Celtics' 1974 and 1976 NBA Championship teams.
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.
Cowens was the fourth center in NBA history to average five assists per game in a single season, joining Wilt Chamberlain, former Celtic center, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His career average is 3.8 assists per game. 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.
As evidence to his all-around ability, only five other players (Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokić] 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.
In 1996, Cowens was honored as one of the league's greatest players of all time by being named to the NBA 50th Anniversary Team. 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. To commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Cowens as the 57th greatest player in NBA history.
"No one ever did more for the Celtics than Dave did," said John Havlicek of his Celtic teammate.
The 1976 Topps set consists of 144 cards, each 3-1/8” by 5-1/4” – a size increase met with approval by the collecting community, as it lent itself to more appealing photo quality. Card fronts feature a large color photograph with the team name vertically situated along the left border; the player’s identity and position are noted along the bottom. Card backs bear statistical and biographical information. This set is anchored by Hall of Famers Julius Erving (#1), Bill Bradley (#43), Bill Walton (#57), Pete Maravich (#60), George Gervin (#68) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#100), as well as by the rookie card of Hall of Famer David Thompson (#110). Erving’s card is among the most coveted in the set, as centering issues have led to only a few “perfect” examples.
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