Michael Cooper vs. Bob Pettit Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Bob Pettit 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, 1 more than Bob Pettit, who played 11. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Bob Pettit had his rookie season in 1954-55. 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	Bob Pettit
Season	1978-79	1954-55
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Milwaukee Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Did Not Play

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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:	+69	+34.6	+18.4			+13.8	+3.2				-3.3	+6.2	+15.8	+.093				+5.9	+7.9
Bob Pettit	72	36.9	20.4	-	-	13.8	3.2	-	-	-	3.6	7.2	17.8	.407	-	-	-	5.9	7.9	.751
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Michael Cooper nor Bob Pettit played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1979-80	1955-56
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+10	+14.7	+16.9			+13.4	+0.1				-0.2	+5.3	+13.9	+.095				+6.3	+8.8	+.040
Bob Pettit	72	38.8	25.7	-	-	16.2	2.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.0	20.9	.429	-	-	-	7.7	10.5	.736
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:	+8	+5.3	+10.0			+6.8	+1.3				-0.9	+2.3	+7.2	+.040				+5.5	+6.5	+.018
Bob Pettit	8	34.3	19.1	-	-	10.5	2.3	-	-	-	2.5	5.9	16.0	.367	-	-	-	7.4	8.8	.843

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1980-81	1956-57
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+10	+2.7	+15.3			+10.5	+2.2				-0.6	+4.6	+12.7	+.076				+6.1	+7.8	+.012
Bob Pettit	71	35.1	24.7	-	-	14.6	1.9	-	-	-	2.5	8.6	20.8	.415	-	-	-	7.5	9.6	.773
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
difference:	+7	+9.0	+19.1			+13.5	+0.2				-1.0	+6.1	+17.0	+.136				+6.9	+8.6	+.053
Bob Pettit	10	43.0	29.8	-	-	16.8	2.5	-	-	-	3.3	9.8	23.7	.414	-	-	-	10.2	13.3	.767

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1981-82	1957-58
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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:	+6	+7.2	+12.7			+13.9	+0.8				-0.4	+3.3	+10.5	+.107				+6.2	+8.3	+.064
Bob Pettit	70	36.1	24.6	-	-	17.4	2.2	-	-	-	3.2	8.3	20.3	.410	-	-	-	8.0	10.6	.749
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:	+3	+11.7	+12.3			+12.1	+2.6				-0.6	+3.2	+12.0	+.174				+6.0	+8.3	+.006
Bob Pettit	11	39.1	24.2	-	-	16.5	1.8	-	-	-	2.8	8.2	20.9	.391	-	-	-	7.8	10.7	.729

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1982-83	1958-59
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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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:	+10	+13.7	+21.4			+13.1	+0.7				-0.3	+6.8	+16.7	+.097				+8.1	+10.6	+.026
Bob Pettit	72	39.9	29.2	-	-	16.4	3.1	-	-	-	2.8	10.0	22.8	.438	-	-	-	9.3	12.2	.759
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
difference:	+9	+12.6	+18.4			+8.6	+0.6				-0.3	+6.2	+15.2	+.042				+6.2	+8.1	+.044
Bob Pettit	6	42.8	27.8	-	-	12.5	2.3	-	-	-	3.3	9.7	22.8	.423	-	-	-	8.5	10.8	.785

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1983-84	1959-60
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+10	+11.1	+17.1			+13.8	+2.3				-0.5	+6.0	+14.5	+.059				+5.7	+7.7	+.085
Bob Pettit	72	40.2	26.1	-	-	17.0	3.6	-	-	-	2.8	9.3	21.2	.438	-	-	-	7.6	10.0	.753
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
difference:	+7	+6.7	+14.8			+11.9	+2.0				-0.7	+5.0	+11.8	+.019				+5.2	+7.1	+.052
Bob Pettit	14	41.1	26.1	-	-	15.8	3.7	-	-	-	3.1	9.2	20.9	.442	-	-	-	7.6	10.1	.754

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1984-85	1960-61
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+6	+13.1	+19.3			+17.2	+1.8				-0.4	+6.7	+15.4	+.018				+6.3	+9.0	+.141
Bob Pettit	76	39.8	27.9	-	-	20.3	3.4	-	-	-	2.9	10.1	22.6	.447	-	-	-	7.7	10.6	.724
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:	+7	+17.4	+18.2			+13.6	+1.7				-1.1	+6.1	+17.1	+.151				+6.6	+9.3	+.166
Bob Pettit	12	43.8	28.6	-	-	17.6	3.2	-	-	-	3.5	9.8	23.7	.412	-	-	-	9.1	12.0	.757

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1985-86	1961-62
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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8th 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	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
difference:	+4	+14.4	+21.9			+15.7	+2.0				-0.9	+7.8	+17.3	+.002				+7.1	+9.5	+.094
Bob Pettit	78	42.1	31.1	-	-	18.7	3.7	-	-	-	3.8	11.1	24.7	.450	-	-	-	8.9	11.6	.771
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
Bob Pettit	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1986-87	1962-63
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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9th 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	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
difference:	+3	+11.6	+17.9			+12.0	+1.4				-1.2	+5.9	+13.1	+.008				+7.2	+9.4	+.077
Bob Pettit	79	39.1	28.4	-	-	15.1	3.1	-	-	-	3.6	9.8	22.1	.446	-	-	-	8.7	11.2	.774
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
difference:	+7	+13.1	+18.8			+11.8	+2.0				-0.5	+6.5	+14.7	+.025				+7.6	+10.1	+.074
Bob Pettit	11	42.1	31.8	-	-	15.1	3.0	-	-	-	3.1	10.8	23.5	.459	-	-	-	10.2	13.1	.778

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1987-88	1963-64
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost West Div Finals

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10th 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	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
difference:	+19	+11.8	+18.7			+11.6	+1.5				-1.6	+6.8	+13.5	+.071				+6.0	+7.7	+.069
Bob Pettit	80	41.2	27.4	-	-	15.3	3.2	-	-	-	3.8	9.9	21.4	.463	-	-	-	7.6	9.6	.789
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
difference:	+12	+16.7	+14.6			+12.1					-1.3	+5.5	+13.3					+4.7	+5.5	+.094
Bob Pettit	12	41.2	21.0	-	-	14.5	2.8	-	-	-	3.7	7.8	18.8	.412	-	-	-	5.5	6.6	.835

Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Bob Pettit
Season	1988-89	1964-65
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	St. Louis Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost West Div Semis

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11th 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	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
difference:	+30	+10.8	+15.2			+10.0	+1.3				-1.0	+5.2	+12.3	+.002				+5.6	+6.9	+.051
Bob Pettit	50	35.1	22.5	-	-	12.4	2.6	-	-	-	3.3	7.9	18.5	.429	-	-	-	6.6	8.1	.820
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
difference:	+11	+3.8	+3.8			+3.3	+2.7					+1.3	+4.4	+.050				+2.7	+3.4	+.033
Bob Pettit	4	23.8	11.5	-	-	6.0	2.0	-	-	-	2.5	3.8	10.3	.366	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.800