Michael Cooper vs. John Paxson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Paxson and Michael Cooper, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Games against each other

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Michael Cooper played 12 years in the NBA, 1 more than John Paxson, who played 11. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while John Paxson had his rookie season in 1983-84. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achivements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Michael Cooper	12	11	1978-79 to 1989-90
John Paxson	11	10	1983-84 to 1993-94

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1978-79	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	3	2.3	2.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.3	1.0	2.0	.500	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-
John Paxson	49	9.3	2.9	0.1	0.6	0.7	3.0	0.2	0.0	0.7	1.0	1.2	2.8	.445	0.1	0.4	.182	0.3	0.5	.615

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Spurs Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	82	24.1	8.8	1.2	1.6	2.8	2.7	1.0	0.5	1.7	2.6	3.7	7.0	.524	0.1	0.2	.250	1.4	1.7	.776
John Paxson	78	16.1	6.2	0.2	0.6	0.9	2.8	0.6	0.0	1.0	1.5	2.5	4.9	.509	0.1	0.4	.294	1.1	1.3	.840

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	16	29.0	9.1	1.8	1.9	3.7	3.6	1.5	0.7	1.8	3.4	3.6	8.8	.407	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.3	.861
John Paxson	5	22.8	10.2	0.0	1.0	1.0	4.2	1.0	0.0	1.0	1.8	4.2	8.4	.500	0.4	1.8	.222	1.4	1.8	.778


Season 3
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1980-81	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	81	32.4	9.4	1.5	2.7	4.1	4.1	1.6	1.0	2.0	3.1	4.0	8.1	.491	0.0	0.2	.211	1.4	1.8	.785
John Paxson	75	20.9	5.3	0.2	1.0	1.3	3.7	0.7	0.0	0.8	2.3	2.0	4.4	.466	0.2	0.7	.300	1.0	1.2	.804

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	3	34.0	10.7	0.7	2.7	3.3	2.3	2.0	0.0	2.3	2.3	3.7	6.7	.550	0.0	1.0	.000	3.3	4.7	.714
John Paxson	3	26.7	9.0	0.0	0.0	0	1.7	1.0	0.0	1.0	3.0	2.3	5.0	.467	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	5.7	.765


Season 4
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1981-82	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	76	28.9	11.9	1.1	2.4	3.5	3.0	1.6	0.8	2.0	2.8	5.0	9.8	.517	0.0	0.2	.118	1.8	2.3	.813
John Paxson	82	32.8	11.3	0.3	1.4	1.7	5.7	0.8	0.1	1.3	2.5	4.7	9.7	.487	0.6	1.7	.371	1.3	1.6	.809

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	14	27.4	11.9	1.4	3.0	4.4	4.4	1.7	0.8	2.1	3.4	5.0	8.9	.565	0.1	0.1	.500	1.8	2.4	.735
John Paxson	3	29.0	8.7	0.0	1.0	1.0	3.7	0.7	0.0	1.7	3.0	3.7	7.3	.500	1.0	2.3	.429	0.3	0.3	1.000


Season 5
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1982-83	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	82	26.2	7.8	1.0	2.3	3.3	3.8	1.4	0.6	1.6	2.5	3.2	6.1	.535	0.1	0.3	.238	1.2	1.6	.785
John Paxson	81	23.3	7.9	0.2	1.1	1.3	3.7	0.6	0.0	0.8	1.9	3.5	7.2	.493	0.4	1.2	.347	0.4	0.6	.733

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	15	30.2	9.4	0.8	3.1	3.9	2.9	1.7	0.4	1.3	3.6	3.5	7.6	.465	0.1	0.5	.143	2.3	2.7	.829
John Paxson	10	16.5	4.6	0.0	0.4	0.4	3.0	0.1	0.1	0.5	2.4	2.0	5.3	.377	0.2	1.2	.167	0.4	0.4	1.000


Season 6
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1983-84	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	82	29.1	9.0	0.6	2.5	3.2	5.9	1.4	0.8	1.8	3.3	3.3	6.7	.497	0.5	1.5	.314	1.9	2.3	.838
John Paxson	78	22.3	7.3	0.2	1.0	1.2	3.9	0.7	0.1	0.9	2.1	3.2	6.6	.480	0.6	1.7	.331	0.4	0.5	.861

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	21	34.4	11.3	1.0	3.0	3.9	5.7	1.1	1.0	1.4	3.8	4.2	9.1	.461	0.6	1.7	.333	2.4	3.0	.806
John Paxson	16	18.9	5.8	0.1	0.5	0.6	2.1	0.8	0.0	0.9	2.2	2.3	4.9	.474	0.3	1.2	.263	0.9	1.0	.875


Season 7
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1984-85	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Bulls Lost East Conf Finals

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	82	26.7	8.6	0.7	2.4	3.1	5.2	1.1	0.6	1.9	2.5	3.4	7.2	.465	0.4	1.5	.285	1.4	1.6	.865
John Paxson	82	28.8	10.0	0.3	1.1	1.5	4.1	1.0	0.1	1.0	2.1	4.5	8.6	.516	0.4	1.1	.359	0.7	0.8	.824

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	19	26.4	10.4	0.6	3.4	4.0	4.9	1.1	0.5	1.9	2.4	3.7	6.6	.563	0.4	1.4	.308	2.5	2.7	.923
John Paxson	15	26.3	6.1	0.1	1.3	1.5	3.6	0.6	0.0	1.0	2.8	2.5	5.8	.425	0.3	0.6	.444	0.9	0.9	1.000


Season 8
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1985-86	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	82	27.7	9.2	0.5	2.4	3.0	5.7	1.1	0.5	1.8	2.9	3.3	7.4	.452	0.8	2.0	.387	1.8	2.1	.865
John Paxson	82	24.0	8.7	0.2	0.9	1.1	3.6	0.8	0.0	0.8	1.7	3.9	7.0	.548	0.5	1.2	.438	0.4	0.5	.829

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	14	30.1	9.7	1.1	2.1	3.3	4.9	1.3	0.3	1.5	1.7	3.9	8.2	.470	1.4	2.9	.463	0.6	0.8	.818
John Paxson	17	28.6	8.2	0.1	1.2	1.4	3.1	0.6	0.0	0.4	1.9	3.6	6.9	.530	0.1	0.8	.143	0.8	0.8	1.000


Season 9
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1986-87	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	82	27.5	10.5	0.7	2.4	3.1	4.5	1.0	0.5	1.2	2.4	3.9	9.0	.438	1.1	2.8	.385	1.5	1.8	.851
John Paxson	79	24.6	7.0	0.3	0.9	1.2	3.1	0.6	0.1	0.6	1.8	3.3	6.2	.528	0.2	0.6	.273	0.4	0.5	.784

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	18	29.0	13.0	0.4	2.8	3.3	5.0	1.4	0.8	2.1	2.6	4.3	8.8	.484	1.9	3.9	.486	2.6	3.0	.852
John Paxson	22	27.2	7.9	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.8	0.6	0.0	0.6	2.4	3.3	6.3	.525	0.5	1.2	.444	0.7	0.9	.842


Season 10
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1987-88	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	61	29.4	8.7	0.8	2.9	3.7	4.7	1.1	0.4	1.7	2.2	3.1	7.9	.392	0.9	2.9	.320	1.6	1.9	.858
John Paxson	59	17.5	4.2	0.2	0.7	0.8	2.3	0.6	0.0	0.5	1.7	1.8	3.9	.451	0.3	0.7	.463	0.3	0.3	.850

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	24	24.5	6.4	0.6	1.8	2.4	2.8	0.8	0.4	0.9	2.4	2.3	5.5	.412	1.0	2.6	.403	0.8	1.1	.741
John Paxson	19	17.4	4.9	0.3	0.7	1.0	1.7	0.3	0.1	0.2	1.6	1.8	3.2	.583	0.8	1.3	.625	0.4	0.6	.727


Season 11
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1988-89	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Bulls Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	80	24.3	7.3	0.4	2.0	2.4	3.9	0.9	0.4	1.2	2.3	2.7	6.2	.431	1.0	2.6	.381	1.0	1.2	.871
John Paxson	27	12.7	2.6	0.1	0.6	0.7	1.2	0.3	0.1	0.2	0.7	1.1	2.5	.441	0.3	0.8	.409	0.0	0.1	.500

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	15	27.6	7.7	0.6	2.1	2.7	4.7	0.6	0.5	1.1	2.5	2.5	5.9	.416	1.4	3.7	.382	1.3	1.6	.833
John Paxson	9	6.4	0.7	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.7	0.3	0.8	.429	0.0	0.1	.000	0.0	0.0	-


Season 12
	Michael Cooper	John Paxson
Season	1989-90	-
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	-

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	80	23.1	6.4	0.7	2.1	2.8	2.7	0.8	0.5	1.1	2.6	2.4	6.2	.387	0.6	2.0	.318	1.0	1.2	.883
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	9	19.2	2.6	1.2	1.4	2.7	2.8	0.8	0.4	0.8	2.3	1.1	3.9	.286	0.3	1.3	.250	0.0	0.0	-
John Paxson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Michael Cooper vs. John Paxson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Paxson and Michael Cooper, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12