Michael Cooper vs. Damian Lillard Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Damian Lillard 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 less than Damian Lillard, who played 13. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Damian Lillard had his rookie season in 2012-13. 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	Damian Lillard
Season	1978-79	2012-13
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	Rookie of the Year
	-	All-Rookie First Team
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:	+79	+36.3	+17.0	+0.5	+2.6	+3.1	+6.5	+0.6	+0.2	-2.7	-1.8	+5.7	+13.7	+.071				+3.3	+3.9
Damian Lillard	82	38.6	19.0	0.5	2.6	3.1	6.5	0.9	0.2	3.0	2.1	6.7	15.7	.429	2.3	6.1	.368	3.3	3.9	.844
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Michael Cooper nor Damian Lillard played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1979-80	2013-14
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West 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:		+11.7	+11.9	+0.8	+1.5	+0.7	+2.9	+0.2	+0.2	-0.7	-0.2	+3.0	+8.9	+.100	+2.6	+6.6	+.144	+3.1	+3.5	+.095
Damian Lillard	82	35.8	20.7	0.4	3.1	3.5	5.6	0.8	0.3	2.4	2.4	6.7	15.9	.424	2.7	6.8	.394	4.5	5.2	.871
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:	+5	+13.4	+13.8	+0.7	+2.1	+1.4	+2.9	+0.5	+0.6	-0.9	-0.8	+3.9	+8.4	+.032	+2.5	+6.3	+.386	+3.5	+3.7	+.033
Damian Lillard	11	42.4	22.9	1.1	4.0	5.1	6.5	1.0	0.1	2.7	2.6	7.5	17.2	.439	2.5	6.4	.386	5.4	6.0	.894

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1980-81	2014-15
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+1	+3.3	+11.6	+0.9	+1.3	+0.5	+2.1	+0.4	+0.7	-0.7	-1.1	+3.2	+8.5	+.057	+2.4	+6.8	+.132	+2.8	+3.1	+.079
Damian Lillard	82	35.7	21.0	0.6	4.0	4.6	6.2	1.2	0.3	2.7	2.0	7.2	16.6	.434	2.4	7.0	.343	4.2	4.9	.864
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:	+2	+6.2	+10.9	+0.3	+0.9	+0.7	+2.3	+1.6	+0.6	-0.1	-0.7	+4.1	+12.5	+.144	+1.0	+5.2	+.161	+1.7	+1.7	+.067
Damian Lillard	5	40.2	21.6	0.4	3.6	4.0	4.6	0.4	0.6	2.4	3.0	7.8	19.2	.406	1.0	6.2	.161	5.0	6.4	.781

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1981-82	2015-16
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West 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:	+1	+6.8	+13.2	+0.5	+1.0	+0.5	+3.8	+0.7	+0.4	-1.2	-0.6	+3.2	+9.9	+.098	+3.1	+7.9	+.257	+3.7	+3.9	+.079
Damian Lillard	75	35.7	25.1	0.6	3.4	4.0	6.8	0.9	0.4	3.2	2.2	8.2	19.7	.419	3.1	8.1	.375	5.5	6.2	.892
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	+12.3	+14.6	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1	+1.9	+0.4	+0.5	-0.9	-1.3	+3.1	+13.1	+.197	+3.7	+9.6	+.107	+4.7	+4.7	+.175
Damian Lillard	11	39.7	26.5	1.1	3.2	4.3	6.3	1.3	0.3	3.0	2.1	8.1	22.0	.368	3.8	9.7	.393	6.5	7.1	.910

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1982-83	2016-17
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+7	+9.7	+19.2	+0.4	+2.0	+1.6	+2.1	+0.5	+0.3	-1.0	-0.5	+5.6	+13.7	+.091	+2.8	+7.4	+.132	+5.3	+5.7	+.110
Damian Lillard	75	35.9	27.0	0.6	4.3	4.9	5.9	0.9	0.3	2.6	2.0	8.8	19.8	.444	2.9	7.7	.370	6.5	7.3	.895
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:	+11	+7.6	+18.4	+0.2	+0.4	+0.6	+0.4	+0.4	+0.1	-2.0	-0.8	+6.3	+14.9	+.032	+2.2	+7.5	+.138	+3.7	+3.6	+.131
Damian Lillard	4	37.8	27.8	1.0	3.5	4.5	3.3	1.3	0.5	3.3	2.8	9.8	22.5	.433	2.3	8.0	.281	6.0	6.3	.960

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1983-84	2017-18
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+9	+7.5	+17.9	+0.2	+1.1	+1.3	+0.7	+0.3	+0.4	-1.0	-1.7	+5.2	+12.7	+.058	+2.6	+7.1	+.047	+4.9	+5.1	+.078
Damian Lillard	73	36.6	26.9	0.8	3.6	4.5	6.6	1.1	0.4	2.8	1.6	8.5	19.4	.439	3.1	8.6	.361	6.8	7.4	.916
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:	+17	+6.1	+7.2	+0.2	+0.8	+0.6	+0.9	+0.2	+1.0	-2.6	-1.8	+2.1	+8.7	+.109	+1.7	+5.8	+.033	+1.4	+1.3	+.076
Damian Lillard	4	40.5	18.5	0.8	3.8	4.5	4.8	1.3	0.0	4.0	2.0	6.3	17.8	.352	2.3	7.5	.300	3.8	4.3	.882

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1984-85	2018-19
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 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:	+2	+8.8	+17.2	+0.2	+1.4	+1.5	+1.7		+0.2	-0.8	-0.6	+5.1	+12.0	+.021	+2.6	+6.5	+.084	+4.5	+4.8	+.047
Damian Lillard	80	35.5	25.8	0.9	3.8	4.6	6.9	1.1	0.4	2.7	1.9	8.5	19.2	.444	3.0	8.0	.369	5.9	6.4	.912
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:	+3	+14.2	+16.5	+0.1	+0.9	+0.8	+1.7	+0.6	+0.2	-1.9	-0.1	+4.9	+14.0	+.145	+3.3	+8.5	+.065	+3.4	+4.4	+.090
Damian Lillard	16	40.6	26.9	0.5	4.3	4.8	6.6	1.7	0.3	3.8	2.5	8.6	20.6	.418	3.7	9.9	.373	5.9	7.1	.833

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1985-86	2019-20
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+16	+9.8	+20.8		+1.4	+1.3	+2.3		+0.2	-1.1	-1.2	+6.2	+13.0	+.011	+3.3	+8.2	+.014	+5.2	+5.7	+.023
Damian Lillard	66	37.5	30.0	0.5	3.8	4.3	8.0	1.1	0.3	2.9	1.7	9.5	20.4	.463	4.1	10.2	.401	7.0	7.8	.888
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
difference:	+10	+5.7	+14.6	+0.8	+1.2	+0.2	+0.6	+0.8		-2.0	-0.7	+2.6	+7.8	+.064	+1.9	+5.4	+.069	+7.4	+7.5	+.152
Damian Lillard	4	35.8	24.3	0.3	3.3	3.5	4.3	0.5	0.3	3.5	1.0	6.5	16.0	.406	3.3	8.3	.394	8.0	8.3	.970

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1986-87	2020-21
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+15	+8.3	+18.3	+0.2	+1.3	+1.1	+3.0	+0.1	+0.2	-1.8	-0.9	+5.1	+10.9	+.013	+3.0	+7.7	+.006	+5.2	+5.4	+.077
Damian Lillard	67	35.8	28.8	0.5	3.7	4.2	7.5	0.9	0.3	3.0	1.5	9.0	19.9	.451	4.1	10.5	.391	6.7	7.2	.928
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:	+12	+12.3	+21.3	+0.2	+1.4	+1.0	+5.2	+0.4	+0.1	-0.1	-1.1	+6.0	+13.5	+.021	+3.9	+9.1	+.037	+5.2	+5.3	+.088
Damian Lillard	6	41.3	34.3	0.2	4.2	4.3	10.2	1.0	0.7	2.2	1.5	10.3	22.3	.463	5.8	13.0	.449	7.8	8.3	.940

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1987-88	2021-22
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:	+32	+7.0	+15.3	+0.4	+0.8	+0.4	+2.6	+0.5		-1.2	-0.9	+4.6	+11.1	+.010	+2.3	+6.9	+.004	+3.9	+4.3	+.020
Damian Lillard	29	36.4	24.0	0.4	3.7	4.1	7.3	0.6	0.4	2.9	1.3	7.7	19.0	.402	3.2	9.8	.324	5.5	6.2	.878
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
Damian Lillard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1988-89	2022-23
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

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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:	+22	+12.0	+24.9	+0.4	+2.0	+2.4	+3.4		+0.1	-2.1	-0.4	+6.9	+14.5	+.032	+3.2	+8.7	+.010	+7.8	+8.4	+.043
Damian Lillard	58	36.3	32.2	0.8	4.0	4.8	7.3	0.9	0.3	3.3	1.9	9.6	20.7	.463	4.2	11.3	.371	8.8	9.6	.914
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
Damian Lillard	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Damian Lillard
Season	1989-90	2023-24
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Milwaukee Bucks
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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12th 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	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
difference:	+7	+12.2	+17.9	+0.2	+1.8	+1.6	+4.3	+0.2	+0.3	-1.5	-0.8	+5.0	+11.3	+.037	+2.4	+6.5	+.036	+5.5	+5.8	+.037
Damian Lillard	73	35.3	24.3	0.5	3.9	4.4	7.0	1.0	0.2	2.6	1.8	7.4	17.5	.424	3.0	8.5	.354	6.5	7.0	.920
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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	-
difference:	+5	+19.8	+28.7	+0.7	+1.4	+0.6	+2.2	+0.2	+0.4	-1.5	-0.3	+7.4	+16.4	+.134	+4.7	+10.7	+.167	+9.3	+9.5
Damian Lillard	4	39.0	31.3	0.5	2.8	3.3	5.0	1.0	0.0	2.3	2.0	8.5	20.3	.420	5.0	12.0	.417	9.3	9.5	.974

Additional Years
* Damian Lillard played 1 season more than Michael Cooper in the NBA. In that period—his season 13 in 2025—Damian Lillard played in the Playoffs and one NBA Cup. In that extra year over Michael Cooper, Damian Lillard got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Cup All-Tournament Team 1 All-Star Game