1947-55 Top 10: #6, Bob Cousy Joins the TBCB Hall of Fame

TBCB continues to celebrate the early fifties by counting down the best NBA players who played between 1947 and 1955. As we work through the countdown of the ten men who won the most TBCB player of the game awards, the top five men on this list who are not already members of the TBCB Hall of Fame will be inducted. Hall of Fame eligibility rules and requirements are described here.

At number six, we recognize the newest member of the TBCB Hall of Fame, Bob Cousy. Cousy earned 16 TBCB player of the game awards between 1947 and 1955. Cousy finished fourth overall in our 1951-52 player of the game standings and, as we'll see in future posts, he also finished third in 1952-53 and fifth in 1954-55.

A six foot one point guard, Holy Cross' Bob Cousy was drafted third overall in 1950 by the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. Then, after a series of intriguing maneuvers, Cousy began play his rookie season as a member of the Boston Celtics. He retired from the Celtics in 1963, and then returned to play seven games with the Cincinnati Royals as a player/coach during the 1969-70 season. Cousy continued to coach the Royals until 1973.


Among Cousy's many accomplishments were six NBA championships, thirteen All-Star games, and twelve All-NBA appearances. He finished among the top five in assists each of his thirteen  seasons, including eight straight seasons as the league leader. Cousy also finished among the top ten in points per game from 1950 to 1959. As his career progressed, he also became a defensive force, finishing in the top five in defensive win shares from 1956 to 1963. We'll have more on Cousy later this week in TBCB's first guest post.

Stay tuned for more as we continue explore the early 1950s and count down the top NBA players between 1947 and 1955. Coming soon, we'll release part two of our 2012-13 season preview, spotlight integration in the NBA, reveal number five on our list of the top players between 1947 and 1955, and cover the 1952-53 NBA season.