Larry Bird vs. Wayne Cooper Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Wayne Cooper and Larry Bird, 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.

Larry Bird played 13 years in the NBA, 1 less than Wayne Cooper, who played 14. Larry Bird had the first of his seasons in 1979-80, while Wayne 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
Larry Bird	13	12	1979-80 to 1991-92
Wayne Cooper	14	10	1978-79 to 1991-92

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


Rookie Season
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1979-80	1978-79
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	Rookie of the Year	-
	All-Rookie First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Larry Bird	82	36.0	21.3	2.6	7.8	10.4	4.5	1.7	0.6	3.2	3.4	8.5	17.8	.474	0.7	1.7	.406	3.7	4.4	.836
Wayne Cooper	65	12.2	4.6	1.4	2.9	4.3	0.3	0.1	0.7	0.8	1.8	2.0	4.5	.437	-	-	-	0.6	0.9	.672

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	9	41.3	21.3	2.4	8.8	11.2	4.7	1.6	0.9	3.7	3.3	9.2	19.7	.469	0.4	1.7	.267	2.4	2.8	.880
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1980-81	1979-80
Team	Boston Celtics	Golden State Warriors
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
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		%
Larry Bird	82	39.5	21.2	2.3	8.6	10.9	5.5	2.0	0.8	3.5	2.9	8.8	18.3	.478	0.2	0.9	.270	3.5	4.0	.863
Wayne Cooper	79	22.5	11.0	2.6	3.9	6.4	0.5	0.3	1.0	1.8	3.1	4.6	9.5	.489	0.0	0.1	.250	1.7	2.3	.751

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	17	44.1	21.9	2.9	11.1	14.0	6.1	2.3	1.0	3.6	3.1	8.6	18.4	.470	0.2	0.5	.375	4.5	5.0	.894
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1981-82	1980-81
Team	Boston Celtics	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
	All-Star Game NVP	-
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		%
Larry Bird	77	38.0	22.9	2.6	8.3	10.9	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.3	3.2	9.2	18.4	.503	0.1	0.7	.212	4.3	4.9	.863
Wayne Cooper	71	20.0	6.9	2.3	3.9	6.2	0.7	0.3	0.7	1.1	3.1	3.0	6.6	.452	0.0	0.0	.333	0.9	1.3	.689

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	12	40.8	17.8	2.8	9.8	12.5	5.6	1.9	1.4	3.2	3.6	7.3	17.2	.427	0.1	0.5	.167	3.1	3.8	.822
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 4
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1982-83	1981-82
Team	Boston Celtics	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Larry Bird	79	37.7	23.6	2.4	8.6	11.0	5.8	1.9	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.5	18.7	.504	0.3	1.0	.286	4.4	5.3	.840
Wayne Cooper	76	23.9	9.0	2.6	4.6	7.2	1.5	0.5	1.4	1.2	3.8	3.7	8.8	.420	0.0	0.1	.125	1.6	2.1	.744

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	6	40.0	20.5	3.3	9.2	12.5	6.8	2.2	0.5	3.2	2.5	8.2	19.3	.422	0.2	0.7	.250	4.0	4.8	.828
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 5
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1983-84	1982-83
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
Larry Bird	79	38.3	24.2	2.3	7.8	10.1	6.6	1.8	0.9	3.0	2.5	9.6	19.5	.492	0.2	0.9	.247	4.7	5.3	.888
Wayne Cooper	80	26.2	9.7	2.7	5.0	7.6	1.5	0.3	1.7	2.0	4.0	4.0	9.0	.443	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	2.5	.685

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	23	41.8	27.5	2.7	8.3	11.0	5.9	2.3	1.2	3.8	3.1	10.0	19.0	.524	0.3	0.7	.412	7.3	8.3	.879
Wayne Cooper	7	32.6	12.4	3.4	4.6	8.0	1.3	0.3	1.1	2.4	4.7	5.1	10.6	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.4	.882


Season 6
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1984-85	1983-84
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers 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		%
Larry Bird	80	39.5	28.7	2.1	8.5	10.5	6.6	1.6	1.2	3.1	2.6	11.5	22.0	.522	0.7	1.6	.427	5.0	5.7	.882
Wayne Cooper	81	20.5	9.8	2.2	3.7	5.9	0.9	0.3	1.3	1.4	3.0	3.8	8.2	.459	0.0	0.1	.000	2.3	2.8	.804

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	20	40.8	26.0	2.7	6.5	9.1	5.8	1.7	1.0	2.9	2.7	9.8	21.3	.461	0.4	1.3	.280	6.1	6.8	.890
Wayne Cooper	5	20.8	4.8	2.2	1.8	4.0	0.8	0.2	0.8	1.0	2.8	2.0	5.4	.370	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.6	.500


Season 7
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1985-86	1984-85
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	Finals MVP	-
	Season MVP	-
	All-NBA First Team	-
	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets 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		%
Larry Bird	82	38.0	25.8	2.3	7.5	9.8	6.8	2.0	0.6	3.2	2.2	9.7	19.6	.496	1.0	2.4	.423	5.4	6.0	.896
Wayne Cooper	80	25.4	12.1	2.9	5.0	7.9	1.1	0.4	2.5	1.9	3.8	5.1	10.7	.472	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.685

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	18	42.8	25.9	1.9	7.4	9.3	8.2	2.1	0.6	2.6	3.1	9.5	18.4	.517	1.3	3.1	.411	5.6	6.1	.927
Wayne Cooper	15	21.4	10.9	2.3	3.9	6.2	1.3	0.5	2.4	1.3	3.5	4.5	9.5	.469	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.7	.750


Season 8
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1986-87	1985-86
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost NBA Finals	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Larry Bird	74	40.6	28.1	1.7	7.5	9.2	7.6	1.8	0.9	3.2	2.5	10.6	20.2	.525	1.2	3.0	.400	5.6	6.1	.910
Wayne Cooper	78	27.1	13.1	2.4	5.4	7.8	1.0	0.5	2.9	1.5	4.0	5.4	11.6	.466	0.0	0.1	.429	2.2	2.8	.795

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	23	44.1	27.0	1.8	8.3	10.0	7.2	1.2	0.8	3.1	2.4	9.4	19.7	.476	0.6	1.8	.341	7.7	8.4	.912
Wayne Cooper	8	19.3	7.9	1.4	3.6	5.0	0.9	0.3	0.6	1.4	3.9	3.0	7.0	.429	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.8	.682


Season 9
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1987-88	1986-87
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA First Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Finals	Nuggets 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		%
Larry Bird	76	39.0	29.9	1.4	7.8	9.3	6.1	1.6	0.8	2.8	2.1	11.6	22.0	.527	1.3	3.1	.414	5.5	6.0	.916
Wayne Cooper	69	22.6	8.0	2.3	4.5	6.9	1.0	0.2	1.5	1.1	3.7	3.4	7.6	.448	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.6	.725

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	17	44.9	24.5	1.7	7.1	8.8	6.8	2.1	0.8	2.9	2.6	8.9	19.9	.450	0.7	1.9	.375	5.9	6.6	.894
Wayne Cooper	3	13.7	4.0	2.0	3.7	5.7	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.3	3.0	1.7	4.0	.417	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000


Season 10
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1988-89	1987-88
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Nuggets Lost West 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		%
Larry Bird	6	31.5	19.3	0.2	6.0	6.2	4.8	1.0	0.8	1.8	3.0	8.2	17.3	.471	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	3.2	.947
Wayne Cooper	45	19.2	6.4	2.2	3.8	6.0	0.7	0.3	2.1	1.3	3.2	2.6	6.0	.437	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.5	.746

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wayne Cooper	9	10.7	2.0	1.8	1.9	3.7	0.7	0.3	0.9	0.4	2.1	0.9	2.6	.348	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.2	1.000


Season 11
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1989-90	1988-89
Team	Boston Celtics	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-NBA Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets 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		%
Larry Bird	75	39.3	24.3	1.2	8.3	9.5	7.5	1.4	0.8	3.2	2.3	9.6	20.2	.473	0.9	2.6	.333	4.3	4.6	.930
Wayne Cooper	79	23.6	6.6	2.7	5.2	7.8	1.0	0.5	2.7	0.9	3.8	2.8	5.6	.495	0.0	0.1	.250	1.0	1.3	.745

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	5	41.4	24.4	1.4	7.8	9.2	8.8	1.0	1.0	3.6	2.0	8.8	19.8	.444	1.0	3.8	.263	5.8	6.4	.906
Wayne Cooper	3	14.7	4.0	1.3	3.0	4.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.0	3.3	2.0	4.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 12
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1990-91	1989-90
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	60	38.0	19.4	0.9	7.6	8.5	7.2	1.8	1.0	3.1	2.0	7.7	17.0	.454	1.3	3.3	.389	2.7	3.1	.891
Wayne Cooper	79	14.9	3.8	1.5	2.8	4.3	0.6	0.2	1.2	0.5	2.7	1.7	3.8	.454	0.0	0.0	.000	0.3	0.5	.641

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	10	39.6	17.1	0.8	6.4	7.2	6.5	1.3	0.3	1.9	2.8	6.2	15.2	.408	0.3	2.1	.143	4.4	5.1	.863
Wayne Cooper	18	13.8	2.7	1.4	2.6	3.9	0.3	0.3	1.6	0.3	2.2	1.1	2.6	.404	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.1	.526


Season 13
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	1991-92	1990-91
Team	Boston Celtics	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Star Game	-
Playoffs	Celtics Lost East Conf Semis	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	45	36.9	20.2	1.0	8.6	9.6	6.8	0.9	0.7	2.8	1.8	7.8	16.8	.466	1.2	2.8	.406	3.3	3.6	.926
Wayne Cooper	67	11.1	2.2	0.8	2.0	2.8	0.3	0.1	0.9	0.3	1.8	0.9	2.2	.393	0.0	0.0	.000	0.5	0.6	.786

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	4	26.8	11.3	0.5	4.0	4.5	5.3	0.3	0.5	1.5	1.8	5.3	10.5	.500	0.0	1.3	.000	0.8	1.0	.750
Wayne Cooper	3	4.3	0.7	0.3	1.3	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 14
	Larry Bird	Wayne Cooper
Season	-	1991-92
Team	-	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wayne Cooper	35	9.8	2.2	1.1	1.8	2.9	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.4	1.6	1.0	2.3	.427	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.3	.636

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Larry Bird	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Wayne Cooper	3	9.0	1.3	0.3	2.3	2.7	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.3	1.3	0.7	1.3	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Larry Bird vs. Wayne Cooper Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Wayne Cooper and Larry Bird, 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