Michael Cooper vs. Arnie Risen Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Arnie Risen 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.

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, 2 more than Arnie Risen, who played 10. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Arnie Risen had his rookie season in 1948-49. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12
Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1978-79	1948-49
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Royals Lost West Div 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	-
Arnie Risen	60	-	16.6	-	-	-	1.7	-	-	-	3.6	5.8	13.6	.423	-	-	-	5.1	7.7	.660
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Arnie Risen	4	-	16.5	-	-	-	2.5	-	-	-	4.0	5.5	13.3	.415	-	-	-	5.5	8.3	.667

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1979-80	1949-50
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Royals Lost Cent Div 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	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
Arnie Risen	62	-	10.1	-	-	-	1.5	-	-	-	3.7	3.3	9.6	.344	-	-	-	3.4	5.2	.664
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
Arnie Risen	2	-	11.5	-	-	-	2.0	-	-	-	3.5	3.5	9.5	.368	-	-	-	4.5	7.5	.600

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1980-81	1950-51
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Arnie Risen	66	-	16.3	-	-	12.0	2.4	-	-	-	4.2	5.7	14.2	.401	-	-	-	4.9	6.7	.734
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
Arnie Risen	14	-	19.5	-	-	14.0	2.4	-	-	-	4.2	6.6	17.1	.389	-	-	-	6.2	9.6	.644

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1981-82	1951-52
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Royals Lost West Div 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	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
Arnie Risen	66	36.3	15.6	-	-	12.7	2.3	-	-	-	3.9	5.5	14.0	.394	-	-	-	4.6	6.5	.701
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
Arnie Risen	6	38.2	15.7	-	-	12.5	1.5	-	-	-	4.0	5.5	13.5	.407	-	-	-	4.7	6.7	.700

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1982-83	1952-53
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Royals Lost West Div 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
Arnie Risen	68	33.6	13.0	-	-	11.0	2.0	-	-	-	4.0	4.3	11.8	.368	-	-	-	4.3	6.3	.685
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
Arnie Risen	3	36.3	13.0	-	-	11.7	0.7	-	-	-	5.3	3.7	12.7	.289	-	-	-	5.7	8.0	.708

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1983-84	1953-54
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Royals Lost West Div 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
Arnie Risen	72	33.1	13.2	-	-	10.1	1.7	-	-	-	3.9	4.5	12.1	.368	-	-	-	4.3	6.0	.714
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
Arnie Risen	6	33.3	14.8	-	-	9.0	0.7	-	-	-	4.2	4.7	11.2	.418	-	-	-	5.5	7.3	.750

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1984-85	1954-55
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Rochester Royals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Royals Lost West Div 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	26.7	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
Arnie Risen	69	28.6	11.6	-	-	10.2	1.6	-	-	-	3.7	3.8	10.1	.371	-	-	-	4.0	5.4	.744
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
Arnie Risen	3	25.7	16.0	-	-	12.3	1.7	-	-	-	4.3	5.7	12.7	.447	-	-	-	4.7	6.3	.737

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1985-86	1955-56
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Celtics Lost East Div 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	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
Arnie Risen	68	23.5	8.1	-	-	8.1	1.3	-	-	-	4.4	2.8	7.3	.383	-	-	-	2.5	3.5	.708
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
Arnie Risen	3	29.3	12.3	-	-	14.7	0.7	-	-	-	5.0	4.0	11.3	.353	-	-	-	4.3	6.0	.722

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1986-87	1956-57
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	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
Arnie Risen	43	21.7	8.0	-	-	6.7	1.2	-	-	-	3.8	2.8	7.1	.388	-	-	-	2.5	3.6	.679
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
Arnie Risen	10	15.2	7.5	-	-	5.8	0.8	-	-	-	4.8	2.8	6.3	.444	-	-	-	1.9	2.9	.655

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Arnie Risen
Season	1987-88	1957-58
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Celtics 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		%
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
Arnie Risen	63	17.8	6.1	-	-	5.7	0.8	-	-	-	3.1	2.1	6.3	.338	-	-	-	1.8	2.7	.683
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
Arnie Risen	10	16.8	4.6	-	-	6.2	0.9	-	-	-	3.2	1.2	5.2	.231	-	-	-	2.2	3.3	.667