Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 45 – Bob Cousy

On NBA 50 at 50 List

Career: 1950 – 1970

Achievements: Six-time champion; 1957 MVP; All-NBA (12x); All-Star (13x); eight-time assists leader; 20th in career assists

The league’s first great point guard, Bob Cousy entered the league and immediately began slinging the ball around, leading the league in assists per game eight different times. When the Boston Celtics first began winning at a high level the credit was initially portioned out to Cousy, a while player who handled the ball: that was who those following the league could understand. It won Cousy the MVP in 1957 when a rookie Bill Russell instantly changed the complexion of that team.

That isn’t meant to completely explain away Cousy’s contributions. He led the league in postseason scoring three times before Russell arrived, doing his part to try and propel the Celtics to that upper echelon. He was dynamic in the open court and loved to make the defense believe he was shooting, only to hit a teammate for a now-open shot. He was probably the first NBA player who made playing the game look fun, and he drew in a generation of fans because of it.

Cousy played 13 seasons and made All-NBA in 12 of them. That’s partially a product of a smaller league and partially a product of their Russell-driven team success, but Cousy produced consistently for a long time. In a fascinating coda to his career, seven years after retiring, injuries to the Cincinnati team he was coaching led Cousy to suit back up for seven games at the age of 41, a return that did not go well as he scored a total of one basket.