Michael Cooper vs. Vinnie Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Vinnie Johnson 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 less than Vinnie Johnson, who played 13. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Vinnie Johnson had his rookie season in 1979-80. 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
Vinnie Johnson	13	10	1979-80 to 1991-92

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


Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1978-79	1979-80
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Supersonics Lost West 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	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	-
Vinnie Johnson	38	8.6	3.2	0.5	0.9	1.4	1.4	0.5	0.1	1.1	1.1	1.2	3.0	.391	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.0	.795

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vinnie Johnson	5	2.4	0.4	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.6	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1979-80	1980-81
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics
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
Vinnie Johnson	81	28.5	13.0	2.4	2.1	4.5	4.2	1.0	0.2	2.7	2.4	5.2	9.7	.534	0.0	0.1	.200	2.6	3.3	.793

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
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1980-81	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Seattle Supersonics, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Vinnie Johnson	74	17.5	7.4	1.1	1.0	2.1	2.3	0.8	0.3	1.3	1.4	2.9	6.0	.489	0.0	0.2	.250	1.4	1.9	.754

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
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1981-82	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
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
Vinnie Johnson	82	30.6	15.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	3.7	1.1	0.6	1.9	3.2	6.3	12.4	.513	0.1	0.5	.275	3.0	3.8	.778

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
Vinnie Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1982-83	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons 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	26.2	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
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.3	13.0	1.6	1.3	2.9	3.3	0.5	0.2	1.6	2.4	5.2	11.0	.473	0.0	0.2	.211	2.5	3.4	.753

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
Vinnie Johnson	5	26.4	10.2	1.0	1.8	2.8	2.4	0.2	0.2	0.8	1.8	3.4	9.2	.370	0.0	0.2	.000	3.4	3.8	.895


Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1983-84	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons 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	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
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.5	12.8	1.6	1.4	3.1	4.0	0.9	0.2	1.6	2.5	5.2	11.5	.454	0.1	0.3	.185	2.3	3.0	.769

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
Vinnie Johnson	9	26.1	14.2	1.7	1.3	3.0	3.2	0.7	0.1	1.7	2.7	5.9	11.4	.515	0.0	0.3	.000	2.4	3.1	.786


Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1984-85	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons 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	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
Vinnie Johnson	79	25.0	13.9	1.5	1.4	2.9	3.4	1.0	0.3	1.1	2.3	5.9	12.6	.467	0.0	0.2	.154	2.1	2.7	.771

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
Vinnie Johnson	4	21.3	12.8	2.0	2.3	4.3	2.8	0.8	0.0	1.3	2.3	5.5	12.3	.449	0.0	0.3	.000	1.8	3.3	.538


Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1985-86	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

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
Vinnie Johnson	78	27.8	15.7	1.6	1.7	3.3	3.8	1.2	0.2	1.7	2.0	6.8	14.8	.462	0.1	0.2	.286	2.0	2.6	.786

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
Vinnie Johnson	15	25.9	14.7	1.3	1.6	2.9	4.1	0.6	0.3	1.5	2.2	6.3	13.8	.459	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	2.4	.861


Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1986-87	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

more >>

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
Vinnie Johnson	82	23.6	12.2	1.1	1.7	2.8	3.3	0.7	0.2	1.9	2.0	5.2	11.7	.443	0.1	0.3	.208	1.8	2.6	.677

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
Vinnie Johnson	23	20.7	10.3	1.5	1.7	3.3	1.9	0.7	0.2	0.9	2.1	4.4	10.4	.423	0.0	0.3	.143	1.4	2.2	.660


Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1987-88	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
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
Vinnie Johnson	82	25.3	13.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.0	0.9	0.2	1.3	1.9	5.6	12.1	.464	0.2	0.5	.295	2.4	3.2	.734

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
Vinnie Johnson	17	21.9	14.1	0.9	1.7	2.6	2.5	0.2	0.2	1.2	1.9	5.4	11.8	.455	0.6	1.4	.417	2.8	3.6	.758


Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1988-89	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	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	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
Vinnie Johnson	82	24.0	9.8	1.3	1.8	3.1	3.1	0.9	0.2	1.5	1.7	4.1	9.5	.431	0.1	0.4	.147	1.6	2.4	.668

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
Vinnie Johnson	20	23.2	10.3	1.4	1.4	2.8	2.7	0.4	0.2	1.6	1.9	4.3	9.2	.462	0.1	0.4	.286	1.7	2.2	.791


Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	1989-90	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Pistons Lost East Conf Finals

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
Vinnie Johnson	82	29.1	11.7	1.3	2.1	3.4	3.3	0.9	0.2	1.4	2.0	5.0	11.4	.434	0.1	0.4	.324	1.6	2.5	.646

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	-
Vinnie Johnson	15	29.2	15.2	2.5	2.6	5.1	2.9	0.7	0.3	1.1	2.2	6.8	14.7	.464	0.1	0.9	.154	1.5	2.1	.710


Season 13
	Michael Cooper	Vinnie Johnson
Season	-	1991-92
Team	-	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Spurs Lost West 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	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vinnie Johnson	60	22.5	8.0	1.1	1.9	3.0	2.4	0.7	0.2	1.2	1.6	3.4	8.3	.405	0.3	1.0	.317	0.9	1.4	.647

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vinnie Johnson	3	23.0	8.3	1.0	1.7	2.7	2.3	1.7	0.3	1.7	2.3	3.7	8.0	.458	0.7	1.3	.500	0.3	0.7	.500

Michael Cooper vs. Vinnie Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Vinnie Johnson 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