Cross-era · careers 22 years apart
Dwight Howard vs Dave Cowens
Dwight Howard (2004-2021) and Dave Cowens (1970-1982) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 22 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Dave Cowens was the higher-volume scorer (17.6 points per game to 15.7); adjusted for era they scored at 1.61× and 1.69× their league average respectively; Dwight Howard was the more efficient scorer (60.3% true shooting to 49.5%). Dwight Howard holds the edge on accolades — 1 championship and the #48 all-time ranking to Dave Cowens's #51.
Career averages
| Dwight Howard | Stat | Dave Cowens |
|---|
| 15.7 |
Points / game |
17.6 |
| 11.8 |
Rebounds / game |
13.6 |
| 1.3 |
Assists / game |
3.8 |
| 0.9 |
Steals / game |
0.8 |
| 1.8 |
Blocks / game |
0.6 |
| 59.3% |
Field goal % |
45.9% |
| 15.8% |
3-point % |
0.7% |
| 57.0% |
Free throw % |
78.5% |
| 60.3% |
True shooting % |
49.5% |
| 1,242 |
Games played |
766 |
Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)
| Dwight Howard | Stat | Dave Cowens |
|---|
| 1.61× |
Points vs era avg |
1.69× |
| 2.85× |
Rebounds vs era avg |
2.82× |
| 0.64× |
Assists vs era avg |
1.63× |
Advanced metrics
Advanced stats weren't tracked in Dave Cowens's era.
| Dwight Howard | Stat | Dave Cowens |
|---|
| 107.3 |
Offensive rating |
— |
| 106.8 |
Defensive rating |
— |
| 0.5 |
Net rating |
— |
| 0.2% |
Usage % |
— |
| 0.1% |
Assist % |
— |
| 0.2% |
Rebound % |
— |
Playoff averages
| Dwight Howard | Stat | Dave Cowens |
|---|
| 15.3 |
Points / game |
18.9 |
| 11.8 |
Rebounds / game |
14.4 |
| 1.2 |
Assists / game |
3.7 |
| 0.8 |
Steals / game |
0.9 |
| 2.0 |
Blocks / game |
0.6 |
| 59.3% |
Field goal % |
45.3% |
| 7.2% |
3-point % |
0.0% |
| 54.8% |
Free throw % |
76.4% |
| 125 |
Playoff games |
89 |
Accolades
| Dwight Howard | Stat | Dave Cowens |
|---|
| 0 |
MVP awards |
1 |
| 0 |
Finals MVP |
0 |
| 1 |
Championships |
2 |
| 8 |
All-Star selections |
6 |
| 5 |
All-NBA 1st Team |
0 |
| #48 |
All-time GOAT rank |
#51 |