Boston Celtics big man luminary Dave Cowens made a rare appearance on CLNS Media’s “Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast” in 2020, and shared some observations on the evolution of the big man in the NBA since his era in ways that might surprise modern readers.
The tendency in any sport is to see it as if it was always the way it was when you first encountered it. Basketball (like most sports) has continuously evolved, however, and the role of the big man has evolved with it. The tendency of bigs in the not-too-distant past was to serve as bruising post operators who tended to use sheer size to bully their way to a high-percentage shot.
As analytics pushed the game away from that template and toward dynamic bigs able to use skill and athleticism to overcome size and muscle, the game has shifted, in many ways, back toward the type of basketball that made Cowens — just 6-foot-9 — a lethal center despite his size.
See Larry Legend’s debut performance in the NBA in this clip. https://t.co/UOkguSZnPm
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) September 23, 2023