Milwaukee Bucks tickets

"I never thought of myself as a superstar. I represent the working class of the
NBA. "-Dave Cowens.

Dave Cowens of the Milwaukee Bucks was the type of basketball player who brought his hardhat and lunch pail to work. That's not to say the man lacked great talent. On the contrary, he could run and jump better than most men his size, had a soft left-handed shooting touch and ranked among the best rebounders in the country during his college career at Florida State.

Still, most of Cowens' accomplishments were the result of his willingness to work-a trait Celtics GM Red Auerbach noticed before the 1970 NBA Draft and one that led him to select Cowens with the fourth pick. Some wondered whether Cowens, undersized at 6-foot-9, was up to the task of filling Bill Russell's shoes at center. Henry Finkel tried the year before and was routinely booed at the Boston Garden. Cowens, fans soon learned, could handle the heat.

"Big Red" might have tried too hard at first. Though he shared NBA Rookie of the Year honors with Geoff Petrie in 1970-71, he also led the league in fouls. Cowens made the first of his seven All-Star appearances the next season, serving notice with his tenacious defense, unselfish play and relentless attacking of the glass that opposing centers would have their hands full for the next decade. Most big men were not keen on playing perimeter defense. Cowens forced them to.

"I don't look for excuses when we lose and I don't buy excuses when we win," Cowens once said. Usually, his Celtics won. His presence in the lineup as a rookie helped Boston overcome a rare sub-.500 season, and it did not take long for the Celtics to return to the top of the NBA. Cowens was named MVP in 1973 and the following season he won the first of two championships in a three-year span. Cowens served as the Celtics' player-coach for one of his 11 seasons and took his first "full time" head-coaching job with Charlotte in 1996.