Danny Ainge vs. Michael Cooper Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Cooper and Danny Ainge, 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.

Danny Ainge played 14 years in the NBA, 2 more than Michael Cooper, who played 12. Danny Ainge had the first of his seasons in 1981-82, while Michael Cooper had his rookie season in 1978-79. 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
Danny Ainge	14	12	1981-82 to 1994-95
Michael Cooper	12	11	1978-79 to 1989-90

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14


Rookie Season
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1981-82	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 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		%
Danny Ainge	53	10.6	4.1	0.5	0.6	1.1	1.6	0.7	0.1	1.0	1.6	1.5	4.2	.357	0.1	0.3	.294	1.1	1.2	.862
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	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	10	12.9	5.0	0.6	0.7	1.3	1.1	0.2	0.1	1.1	2.1	1.9	4.5	.422	0.2	0.4	.500	1.0	1.3	.769
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1982-83	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Danny Ainge	80	25.6	9.9	1.0	1.6	2.7	3.1	1.4	0.1	1.2	3.2	4.5	9.0	.496	0.1	0.4	.172	0.9	1.2	.742
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	7	28.7	9.4	0.3	1.7	2.0	3.6	0.7	0.1	0.9	3.4	4.0	10.3	.389	0.3	0.7	.400	1.1	1.6	.727
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


Season 3
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1983-84	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers 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		%
Danny Ainge	71	16.3	5.4	0.4	1.2	1.6	2.3	0.6	0.1	1.0	2.0	2.3	5.1	.460	0.1	0.3	.273	0.6	0.8	.821
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	19	13.3	4.8	0.2	0.6	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.1	0.7	1.9	2.2	4.7	.456	0.1	0.5	.222	0.4	0.5	.700
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


Season 4
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1984-85	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA 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		%
Danny Ainge	75	34.2	12.9	1.0	2.6	3.6	5.3	1.6	0.1	2.0	3.0	5.6	10.6	.529	0.2	0.7	.268	1.6	1.8	.868
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	21	32.7	11.0	1.0	1.8	2.8	5.8	1.5	0.0	1.5	3.6	4.6	9.9	.466	0.3	0.8	.438	1.4	1.9	.769
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


Season 5
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1985-86	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Danny Ainge	80	30.1	10.7	0.6	2.4	2.9	5.1	1.2	0.1	1.6	2.6	4.4	8.8	.504	0.3	0.9	.356	1.5	1.7	.904
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	18	36.2	15.6	1.2	3.0	4.2	5.2	2.3	0.1	1.7	3.2	5.9	10.7	.554	0.8	1.9	.412	2.9	3.3	.867
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


Season 6
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1986-87	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA 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		%
Danny Ainge	71	35.2	14.8	0.7	2.7	3.4	5.6	1.4	0.2	2.0	2.7	5.8	11.9	.486	1.2	2.7	.443	2.1	2.3	.897
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	20	38.1	14.8	0.7	2.0	2.6	4.6	1.2	0.2	2.1	3.1	5.8	11.9	.487	1.6	3.7	.438	1.6	1.8	.861
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


Season 7
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1987-88	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East 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		%
Danny Ainge	81	37.3	15.7	0.7	2.3	3.1	6.2	1.4	0.2	1.9	2.5	6.0	12.1	.491	1.8	4.4	.415	2.0	2.2	.878
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	17	39.4	11.6	0.9	2.2	3.1	6.4	0.5	0.1	2.4	3.8	4.2	10.8	.386	1.1	3.4	.328	2.2	2.5	.881
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


Season 8
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1988-89	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers 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		%
Danny Ainge	73	32.6	17.5	1.0	2.5	3.5	5.5	1.3	0.1	2.0	2.5	6.6	14.4	.457	1.6	4.2	.380	2.8	3.3	.854
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 9
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1989-90	1986-87
Team	Sacramento Kings	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	Defensive Player of the Year
Playoffs	Did Not Play	NBA Champion

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	75	36.4	17.9	0.9	3.4	4.3	6.0	1.5	0.2	2.5	3.2	6.7	15.4	.438	1.4	3.9	.374	3.0	3.6	.831
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 10
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1990-91	1987-88
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
Danny Ainge	80	21.4	11.1	0.6	2.0	2.6	3.6	0.8	0.2	1.3	2.4	4.2	8.9	.472	1.3	3.1	.406	1.4	1.7	.826
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	16	17.3	8.0	0.1	1.7	1.8	1.9	0.8	0.3	1.5	2.1	2.9	6.6	.448	0.7	2.3	.306	1.4	1.8	.821
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


Season 11
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1991-92	1988-89
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	81	19.7	9.7	0.5	1.3	1.8	2.5	0.9	0.2	0.9	1.8	3.7	8.3	.442	1.0	2.8	.339	1.3	1.6	.824
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	21	21.4	10.6	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	2.8	3.9	8.0	.479	1.0	2.5	.404	1.9	2.2	.830
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


Season 12
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1992-93	1989-90
Team	Phoenix Suns	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns Lost NBA Finals	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		%
Danny Ainge	80	27.0	11.8	0.6	2.1	2.7	3.3	0.9	0.1	1.4	2.2	4.2	9.1	.462	1.9	4.7	.403	1.5	1.8	.848
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	24	24.6	8.1	0.8	1.7	2.5	2.3	0.5	0.1	0.9	2.5	2.7	7.1	.376	1.4	3.3	.413	1.4	1.6	.872
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	-


Season 13
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1993-94	-
Team	Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Danny Ainge	68	22.9	8.9	0.4	1.5	1.9	2.6	0.8	0.1	1.2	2.1	3.3	7.9	.417	1.2	3.6	.328	1.1	1.4	.830
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	10	23.0	8.6	0.7	1.6	2.3	2.1	0.6	0.1	0.5	2.6	2.7	5.9	.458	1.7	4.0	.425	1.5	2.1	.714
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 14
	Danny Ainge	Michael Cooper
Season	1994-95	-
Team	Phoenix Suns	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Suns 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		%
Danny Ainge	74	18.6	7.7	0.3	1.1	1.5	2.8	0.6	0.1	1.1	2.1	2.6	5.7	.460	1.1	2.9	.364	1.4	1.8	.808
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Danny Ainge	10	13.7	6.0	0.2	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.0	0.6	1.5	1.9	3.8	.500	1.2	2.6	.462	1.0	1.1	.909
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Danny Ainge vs. Michael Cooper Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Cooper and Danny Ainge, 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

Season 14