Michael Cooper vs. Dikembe Mutombo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dikembe Mutombo 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Stats Rankings

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, 6 less than Dikembe Mutombo, who played 18. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Dikembe Mutombo had his rookie season in 1991-92. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Michael Cooper	12	11	1978-79 to 1989-90
Dikembe Mutombo	18	13	1991-92 to 2008-09

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


Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1978-79	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Honors & Awards	-	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:	+68	+36.0	+14.6	+4.5	+7.8	+12.3	+2.2	+0.3	+3.0	-3.2	-3.5	+5.0	+10.2	+.007				+4.5	+7.0
Dikembe Mutombo	71	38.3	16.6	4.5	7.8	12.3	2.2	0.6	3.0	3.5	3.8	6.0	12.2	.493	0.0	0.0	-	4.5	7.0	.642

Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Michael Cooper nor Dikembe Mutombo played in the postseason in their season 1


Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1979-80	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:		+12.8	+5.0	+3.0	+7.3	+10.2	+0.9	+0.5	+3.0	-0.9	-0.9	+1.2	+2.5	+.014	+0.1	+0.2		+2.7	+4.3	+.095
Dikembe Mutombo	82	36.9	13.8	4.2	8.9	13.0	1.8	0.5	3.5	2.6	3.5	4.9	9.5	.510	0.0	0.0	-	4.1	6.0	.681

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
Dikembe Mutombo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1980-81	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	Blocks Leader
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis

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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	+2.4	+2.6	+2.0	+5.7	+7.7	+2.6	+0.9	+3.1	-0.5	-0.1	+0.5	+0.3	+.078		+0.2		+1.7	+3.6	+.202
Dikembe Mutombo	82	34.8	12.0	3.5	8.4	11.8	1.5	0.7	4.1	2.5	3.2	4.5	7.8	.569	0.0	0.0	-	3.1	5.4	.583

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:	+9	+8.6	+2.6	+2.6	+6.0	+8.7	+0.5	+1.3	+5.8	-0.2	-1.2	+0.5	+2.3	+.087		+1.0		+1.6	+3.5	+.112
Dikembe Mutombo	12	42.6	13.3	3.3	8.7	12.0	1.8	0.7	5.8	2.5	3.5	4.2	9.0	.463	0.0	0.0	-	4.9	8.2	.602


Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1981-82	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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	+8.9	+0.4	+2.8	+6.3	+9.0	+1.6	+1.1	+3.1	-0.3	-0.7	+0.7	+2.1	+.039		+0.2		+1.2	+2.3	+.159
Dikembe Mutombo	82	37.8	11.5	3.9	8.7	12.5	1.4	0.5	3.9	2.3	3.5	4.3	7.7	.556	0.0	0.0	-	3.0	4.6	.654

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:	+11	+0.6	+5.9	+0.1	+2.0	+1.9	+4.1	+1.7	+1.5	-0.2	-1.6	+3.0	+5.6	+.035	+0.1	+0.1		+0.2	+0.6	+.068
Dikembe Mutombo	3	28.0	6.0	1.3	5.0	6.3	0.3	0.0	2.3	2.3	5.0	2.0	3.3	.600	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	3.0	.667


Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1982-83	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Denver Nuggets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	Blocks Leader
	-	All-Star Game
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:	+8	+10.5	+3.2	+2.4	+6.1	+8.5	+2.3	+0.9	+3.9	-0.4	-1.0	+0.6	+1.6	+.036	+0.1	+0.3		+2.1	+3.2	+.090
Dikembe Mutombo	74	36.7	11.0	3.4	8.4	11.8	1.5	0.5	4.5	2.0	3.5	3.8	7.7	.499	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	4.8	.695

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
Dikembe Mutombo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1983-84	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+2	+8.1	+4.3	+2.8	+5.8	+8.4	+4.5	+0.8	+2.5	-0.5	-0.2	+1.5	+2.3	+.030	+0.5	+1.5		+1.9	+3.1	+.133
Dikembe Mutombo	80	37.2	13.3	3.4	8.3	11.6	1.4	0.6	3.3	2.3	3.1	4.8	9.0	.527	0.0	0.0	-	3.8	5.4	.705

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:	+11	+7.1	+4.1	+2.7	+5.6	+8.4	+4.4	+1.0	+1.6	-0.6	-0.8	+1.2	+0.5	+.167	+0.6	+1.7		+2.2	+3.4	+.087
Dikembe Mutombo	10	41.5	15.4	3.7	8.6	12.3	1.3	0.1	2.6	2.0	3.0	5.4	8.6	.628	0.0	0.0	-	4.6	6.4	.719


Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1984-85	1997-98
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East 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:		+8.9	+4.8	+2.7	+5.6	+8.3	+4.2	+0.7	+2.8	-0.1	-0.6	+1.5	+1.9	+.072	+0.4	+1.5		+2.3	+3.9	+.195
Dikembe Mutombo	82	35.6	13.4	3.4	8.0	11.4	1.0	0.4	3.4	2.0	3.1	4.9	9.1	.537	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.5	.670

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:	+15	+7.6	+2.4	+2.7	+6.1	+8.8	+4.6	+0.8	+1.8	-0.1	-0.1	+0.9	+0.6	+.105	+0.4	+1.4			+1.3	+.298
Dikembe Mutombo	4	34.0	8.0	3.3	9.5	12.8	0.3	0.3	2.3	2.0	2.5	2.8	6.0	.458	0.0	0.0	-	2.5	4.0	.625


Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1985-86	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

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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:	+32	+8.9	+1.6	+3.3	+6.0	+9.2	+4.6	+0.8	+2.4	-0.1		+0.2	+0.6	+.060	+0.8	+2.0		+2.1	+3.6	+.181
Dikembe Mutombo	50	36.6	10.8	3.8	8.4	12.2	1.1	0.3	2.9	1.9	2.9	3.5	6.8	.512	0.0	0.0	-	3.9	5.7	.684

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:	+5	+12.1	+2.9	+2.9	+7.8	+10.6	+3.7	+0.7	+2.3	-0.5	-1.4	+0.5	+0.3	+.093	+1.4	+2.9		+3.1	+4.4	+.116
Dikembe Mutombo	9	42.2	12.6	4.0	9.9	13.9	1.2	0.6	2.6	2.0	3.1	4.4	7.9	.563	0.0	0.0	-	3.7	5.2	.702


Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1986-87	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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:		+8.9	+1.0	+3.0	+8.0	+11.0	+3.2	+0.7	+2.8	-0.9	-0.6		+2.0	+.124	+1.1	+2.8		+2.1	+3.3	+.143
Dikembe Mutombo	82	36.4	11.5	3.7	10.4	14.1	1.3	0.3	3.3	2.1	3.0	3.9	7.0	.562	0.0	0.0	-	3.6	5.1	.708

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
Dikembe Mutombo	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1987-88	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	All-Defensive First Team
	-	Defensive Player of the Year
	-	Rebounds Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost NBA 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:	+14	+5.1	+1.3	+3.3	+6.5	+9.8	+3.7	+0.7	+2.3	-0.2	-0.5	+0.5	+0.5	+.092	+0.9	+2.9		+1.2	+2.0	+.133
Dikembe Mutombo	75	34.5	10.0	4.1	9.4	13.5	1.0	0.4	2.7	1.9	2.7	3.6	7.4	.484	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	3.9	.725

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:	+1	+18.2	+7.5	+4.3	+7.0	+11.3	+2.1	+0.1	+2.7	-0.7		+2.1	+3.5	+.078	+1.0	+2.6		+4.2	+5.3	+.036
Dikembe Mutombo	23	42.7	13.9	4.9	8.8	13.7	0.7	0.7	3.1	1.6	2.4	4.4	9.0	.490	0.0	0.0	-	5.0	6.4	.777


Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1988-89	2001-02
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	-	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	76ers Lost East Conf 1st Rd

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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:		+12.0	+4.2	+2.8	+5.6	+8.4	+2.9	+0.5	+2.0	-0.8	-0.7	+1.3	+1.8	+.070	+1.0	+2.6		+2.5	+3.4	+.107
Dikembe Mutombo	80	36.3	11.5	3.2	7.6	10.8	1.0	0.4	2.4	2.0	3.0	4.0	8.0	.501	0.0	0.0	-	3.5	4.6	.764

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:	+10	+7.0	+1.1	+2.2	+5.7	+7.9	+4.1	+0.2	+1.3	-1.1	-0.7	+0.3	+0.3	+.036	+1.4	+3.7		+1.9	+3.6	+.218
Dikembe Mutombo	5	34.6	8.8	2.8	7.8	10.6	0.6	0.4	1.8	2.2	3.2	2.8	6.2	.452	0.0	0.0	-	3.2	5.2	.615


Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Dikembe Mutombo
Season	1989-90	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New Jersey Nets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Nets Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+56	+1.7	+0.6	+1.6	+2.0	+3.6	+1.9	+0.6	+1.0	-0.3	-0.3	+0.4	+0.7	+.013	+0.6	+2.0		+0.7	+1.1	+.156
Dikembe Mutombo	24	21.4	5.8	2.3	4.1	6.4	0.8	0.2	1.5	1.4	2.3	2.0	5.5	.374	0.0	0.0	-	1.7	2.3	.727

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:	+1	+7.7	+0.8	+0.4	+0.5		+2.2	+0.5	+0.5		-0.2	+0.4	+2.4	+.181	+0.3	+1.3		+0.4	+0.4
Dikembe Mutombo	10	11.5	1.8	0.8	1.9	2.7	0.6	0.3	0.9	0.8	2.1	0.7	1.5	.467	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	0.4	1.000

Additional Years

* Dikembe Mutombo played 6 seasons more than Michael Cooper in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 13 to 18, from 2004 to 2009—Dikembe Mutombo played in 5 Playoffs.

Michael Cooper vs. Dikembe Mutombo Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dikembe Mutombo 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.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Rookie Season Stats Comparison

Season 2

2nd Season Stats Comparison

Season 3

3rd Season Stats Comparison

Season 4

4th Season Stats Comparison

Season 5

5th Season Stats Comparison

Season 6

6th Season Stats Comparison

Season 7

7th Season Stats Comparison

Season 8

8th Season Stats Comparison

Season 9

9th Season Stats Comparison

Season 10

10th Season Stats Comparison

Season 11

11th Season Stats Comparison

Season 12

12th Season Stats Comparison

Additional Years