Michael Cooper vs. John Salmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Salmons 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

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 less than John Salmons, who played 13. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while John Salmons had his rookie season in 2002-03. 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 Salmons	13	5	2002-03 to 2014-15

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1978-79	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers 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	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 Salmons	64	7.9	2.1	0.3	0.7	0.9	0.7	0.3	0.1	0.5	0.8	0.8	1.8	.414	0.2	0.5	.323	0.4	0.5	.743

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Salmons	6	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.2	.000	0.0	0.2	.000	0.0	0.3	.000


Season 2
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1979-80	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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 Salmons	77	20.8	5.8	0.5	2.1	2.5	1.7	0.8	0.2	1.0	1.6	2.1	5.4	.387	0.6	1.9	.340	0.9	1.2	.772

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1980-81	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	76ers 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 Salmons	58	17.1	4.1	0.2	1.9	2.1	2.0	0.7	0.2	0.9	1.6	1.5	3.6	.405	0.5	1.6	.341	0.6	0.8	.729

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 Salmons	2	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 4
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1981-82	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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 Salmons	82	25.1	7.5	0.6	2.1	2.7	2.7	0.9	0.2	1.5	2.2	2.7	6.4	.420	0.3	1.1	.299	1.9	2.4	.775

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1982-83	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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	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 Salmons	79	27.0	8.5	0.6	2.7	3.3	3.2	0.9	0.3	1.5	2.2	3.0	6.5	.456	0.5	1.4	.357	2.0	2.6	.779

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1983-84	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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	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 Salmons	81	31.1	12.5	0.9	3.4	4.3	2.6	1.1	0.4	2.1	2.1	4.7	9.9	.477	0.5	1.5	.325	2.6	3.2	.823

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 7
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1984-85	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings, 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	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 Salmons	79	37.5	18.3	0.7	3.5	4.2	3.2	1.1	0.3	2.1	2.3	6.5	13.8	.472	1.6	3.8	.417	3.6	4.4	.830

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 Salmons	7	44.7	18.1	0.9	3.6	4.4	2.3	1.3	1.0	1.7	2.9	6.1	15.3	.402	1.7	5.4	.316	4.1	4.9	.853


Season 8
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1985-86	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Bucks 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	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 Salmons	81	34.9	15.4	0.4	2.9	3.3	2.8	1.2	0.3	1.5	2.0	5.4	12.2	.441	1.5	3.8	.382	3.1	3.8	.830

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 Salmons	7	40.7	17.0	1.0	2.7	3.7	4.0	1.4	0.6	1.7	2.7	6.3	15.6	.404	0.6	3.3	.174	3.9	4.0	.964


Season 9
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1986-87	2010-11
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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 Salmons	73	35.0	14.0	0.4	3.3	3.6	3.5	1.0	0.4	1.9	2.2	5.1	12.3	.415	1.1	3.0	.379	2.7	3.3	.813

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1987-88	2011-12
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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 Salmons	46	27.2	7.5	0.4	2.5	2.9	2.0	0.8	0.2	1.0	1.7	3.1	7.5	.409	0.7	2.4	.295	0.6	1.0	.644

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 11
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1988-89	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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 Salmons	76	30.0	8.8	0.4	2.3	2.7	3.0	0.7	0.3	1.1	1.9	3.2	8.1	.399	1.3	3.5	.371	1.1	1.4	.773

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 Salmons	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	1989-90	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Raptors Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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 Salmons	78	22.1	5.2	0.3	1.8	2.1	1.9	0.6	0.2	0.7	1.6	1.9	5.3	.363	0.8	2.1	.387	0.5	0.7	.769

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 Salmons	6	12.8	2.2	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.8	0.3	0.0	0.2	1.5	0.8	2.8	.294	0.3	2.0	.167	0.2	0.2	1.000


Season 13
	Michael Cooper	John Salmons
Season	-	2014-15
Team	-	New Orleans Pelicans
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
John Salmons	21	12.9	2.0	0.2	0.8	1.0	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.2	1.2	0.8	2.3	.333	0.4	1.2	.308	0.1	0.2	.500

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

Michael Cooper vs. John Salmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of John Salmons 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

Season 13