Every NBA team’s greatest enforcer of all time

Boston Celtics — Dave Cowens

When Bill Russell retired, the 11-time NBA champion and five-time MVP left some mighty big shoes to fill at the center position on the Boston Celtics roster. Many believed that Dave Cowens, undersized at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, was too small to play center when the Celtics drafted him the following year. But Bill Russell himself provided an endorsement for Cowens, who grew up in bustling Newport, Kentucky and had a knack for out-hustling and out-working everybody.

Cowens was super aggressive and flat-out wild. His first two seasons in the league, Cowens led the league in fouls. He averaged four fouls per game! He played so hard that he once broke his foot during an exhibition game while falling into the basket on a chase-down block. Cowens was a notorious anti-flopper. As the legend has it, after being called for a charge on a play he profusely claimed was a flop against him, Cowens literally tackled the flopper, Mike Newlin, on the next possession to show the ref (and the world) what a real foul was.

Also known as Big Red and Dave the Rave, Cowens was a great all-around player, too. The red-headed lefty is one of very few players in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals for an entire season. Cowens was the MVP of the league in 1973 and led the Celtics to two championships. It’s safe to say that Bill Russell was right.