Michael Cooper vs. Ben Simmons Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Ben Simmons 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, 5 more than Ben Simmons, who played 7. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Ben Simmons had his rookie season in 2017-18. 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 achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1978-79	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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Rookie Season Stats Comparison
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	-
difference:	+78	+31.4	+13.8	+1.8	+6.3	+8.1	+8.2	+1.4	+0.9	-3.1	-2.3	+5.7	+10.3	+.045				+2.4	+4.2
Ben Simmons	81	33.7	15.8	1.8	6.3	8.1	8.2	1.7	0.9	3.4	2.6	6.7	12.3	.545	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	4.2	.560
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ben Simmons	10	36.9	16.3	1.6	7.8	9.4	7.7	1.7	0.8	4.4	3.4	6.1	12.5	.488	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.8	.707

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1979-80	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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2nd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+3	+10.1	+8.1	+1.0	+5.0	+6.0	+5.0	+0.4	+0.3	-1.8		+3.1	+5.2	+.039	+0.1	+0.1	+.250	+1.9	+3.7	+.176
Ben Simmons	79	34.2	16.9	2.2	6.6	8.8	7.7	1.4	0.8	3.5	2.6	6.8	12.2	.563	0.0	0.1	.000	3.3	5.4	.600
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
difference:	+4	+6.1	+4.8	+0.1	+3.2	+3.3	+2.4	+0.2	+0.3	-0.9	-0.4	+2.4	+0.9	+.214		+0.1			+1.0	+.286
Ben Simmons	12	35.1	13.9	1.9	5.1	7.0	6.0	1.3	1.0	2.7	3.8	6.0	9.7	.621	0.0	0.0	-	1.9	3.3	.575

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1980-81	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Did Not Play

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3rd Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+24	+3.0	+7.0	+0.5	+3.1	+3.7	+3.9	+0.5	+0.4	-1.5	-0.2	+2.6	+3.3	+.089		+0.1	+.075	+1.8	+3.4	+.164
Ben Simmons	57	35.4	16.4	2.0	5.8	7.8	8.0	2.1	0.6	3.5	3.3	6.6	11.4	.580	0.0	0.1	.286	3.2	5.2	.621
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
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1981-82	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

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4th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+18	+3.5	+2.4	+0.5	+3.2	+3.7	+3.9		+0.2	-1.0	-0.1	+0.6	+0.3	+.040	+0.1		+.182	+1.2	+2.6	+.200
Ben Simmons	58	32.4	14.3	1.6	5.6	7.2	6.9	1.6	0.6	3.0	2.9	5.6	10.1	.557	0.1	0.2	.300	3.0	4.9	.613
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
difference:	+2	+6.1		+0.7	+2.8	+3.5	+4.4	+0.4		-0.2	-0.1	+0.1	+1.0	+.056	+0.1		+.500	+0.3	+3.7	+.393
Ben Simmons	12	33.5	11.9	2.1	5.8	7.9	8.8	1.3	0.8	2.3	3.3	4.9	7.9	.621	0.0	0.1	.000	2.1	6.1	.342

Note: Ben Simmons didn't play in 2021-22.

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1982-83	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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5th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+40	+0.1	+0.9		+3.0	+3.0	+2.3	+0.1		-0.7	-0.8		+0.5	+.031	+0.1	+0.3		+0.6	+0.2	+.346
Ben Simmons	42	26.3	6.9	1.0	5.3	6.3	6.1	1.3	0.6	2.3	3.3	3.2	5.6	.566	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.4	.439
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
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1983-84	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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6th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+67	+5.2	+2.9	+1.5	+3.4	+4.7	+0.2	+0.6	+0.2		-0.9	+0.4	+1.8	+.084	+0.5	+1.5		+1.5	+1.3	+.438
Ben Simmons	15	23.9	6.1	2.1	5.9	7.9	5.7	0.8	0.6	1.8	2.4	2.9	4.9	.581	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.0	.400
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
Ben Simmons	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Ben Simmons
Season	1984-85	2024-25
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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7th Season Stats Comparison
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
difference:	+31	+4.7	+3.6	+0.2	+1.4	+1.6	+0.4	+0.4	+0.1	-0.1	-0.4	+1.1	+2.8	+.055	+0.4	+1.5		+0.9	+1.0	+.138
Ben Simmons	51	22.0	5.0	0.9	3.8	4.7	5.6	0.7	0.5	2.0	2.1	2.3	4.4	.520	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.6	.727
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
difference:	+14	+18.0	+9.6		+2.6	+2.6	+4.1	+0.9	+0.3	-1.5	-0.2	+3.3	+5.4	+.230	+0.4	+1.4		+2.5	+2.7
Ben Simmons	5	8.4	0.8	0.6	0.8	1.4	0.8	0.2	0.8	0.4	2.2	0.4	1.2	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-

Additional Years
* Michael Cooper played 5 seasons more than Ben Simmons in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 8 to 12, from 1986 to 1990—Michael Cooper played in 5 Playoffs and won two NBA Championships. In those 5 extra years over Ben Simmons, Michael Cooper got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	2 All-Defensive First Team 1 All-Defensive Second Team 1 Defensive Player of the Year