Michael Cooper vs. Dirk Nowitzki Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Dirk Nowitzki 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, 9 less than Dirk Nowitzki, who played 21. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Dirk Nowitzki had his rookie season in 1998-99. 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.

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1979-80	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did not play

more >>

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	+8.7		+3.6	+3.7	+0.2	+0.2	+0.3		-0.5	+2.6	+6.6	+.063	+1.3	+3.5	+.129	+2.1	+2.5	+.054
Dirk Nowitzki	82	35.8	17.5	1.2	5.2	6.5	2.5	0.8	0.8	1.7	3.1	6.3	13.6	.461	1.4	3.7	.379	3.5	4.2	.830
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
Dirk Nowitzki	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1980-81	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

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	+5.7	+12.4		+5.0	+5.1	+2.0	+0.6	+0.2	-0.1	-0.1	+3.2	+7.1	+.017	+1.8	+4.6	+.176	+4.1	+4.8	+.053
Dirk Nowitzki	82	38.1	21.8	1.5	7.7	9.2	2.1	1.0	1.2	1.9	3.0	7.2	15.2	.474	1.8	4.8	.387	5.5	6.6	.838
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	+5.9	+12.7	+0.7	+4.0	+4.8	+0.9	+0.9	+0.8	-0.9	-1.4	+3.2	+9.6	+.127	+1.3	+3.6	+.283	+5.0	+4.7	+.169
Dirk Nowitzki	10	39.9	23.4	1.4	6.7	8.1	1.4	1.1	0.8	1.4	3.7	6.9	16.3	.423	1.3	4.6	.283	8.3	9.4	.883

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1981-82	2001-02
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

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:		+9.1	+11.5	+0.5	+6.0	+6.4	+0.6	+0.5	+0.2	-0.1	-0.1	+2.9	+6.8	+.040	+1.8	+4.4	+.279	+4.0	+4.5	+.040
Dirk Nowitzki	76	38.0	23.4	1.6	8.4	9.9	2.4	1.1	1.0	1.9	2.9	7.9	16.6	.477	1.8	4.6	.397	5.8	6.8	.853
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:	+6	+17.2	+16.5	+0.7	+8.0	+8.7	+2.1	+0.3		-0.7		+4.1	+11.6	+.120	+1.9	+3.4	+.071	+6.3	+6.9	+.143
Dirk Nowitzki	8	44.6	28.4	2.1	11.0	13.1	2.3	2.0	0.8	2.8	3.4	9.1	20.5	.445	2.0	3.5	.571	8.1	9.3	.878

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1982-83	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

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:	+2	+12.8	+17.3		+6.6	+6.6	+0.8		+0.4	-0.3	-0.1	+5.4	+12.5	+.072	+1.8	+4.6	+.141	+4.8	+5.3	+.096
Dirk Nowitzki	80	39.0	25.1	1.0	8.9	9.9	3.0	1.4	1.0	1.9	2.6	8.6	18.6	.463	1.9	4.9	.379	6.0	6.9	.881
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:	+2	+12.3	+15.9	+0.1	+7.5	+7.6	+0.7	+0.5	+0.5	-1.1	-0.5	+5.3	+10.8	+.014	+1.5	+3.1	+.300	+3.8	+3.9	+.083
Dirk Nowitzki	17	42.5	25.3	0.9	10.6	11.5	2.2	1.2	0.9	2.4	3.1	8.8	18.4	.479	1.6	3.6	.443	6.1	6.6	.912

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1983-84	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+5	+8.8	+12.8	+0.6	+5.0	+5.5	+3.2	+0.2	+0.6		-0.5	+4.6	+10.3	+.035	+0.8	+2.3	+.027	+2.9	+3.2	+.039
Dirk Nowitzki	77	37.9	21.8	1.2	7.5	8.7	2.7	1.2	1.4	1.8	2.8	7.9	17.0	.462	1.3	3.8	.341	4.8	5.5	.877
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:	+16	+7.8	+15.3	+1.6	+6.2	+7.9	+4.3	+0.3	+1.6	-0.2	-0.6	+4.8	+10.9	+.011	+0.8	+1.3	+.134	+4.8	+5.4	+.051
Dirk Nowitzki	5	42.2	26.6	2.6	9.2	11.8	1.4	1.4	2.6	1.2	3.2	9.0	20.0	.450	1.4	3.0	.467	7.2	8.4	.857

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1984-85	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+4	+12.0	+17.5	+0.5	+6.1	+6.6	+2.1	+0.1	+0.9	-0.4	-0.3	+5.1	+11.3	+.006	+0.8	+1.4	+.114	+6.5	+7.5	+.004
Dirk Nowitzki	78	38.7	26.1	1.2	8.5	9.7	3.1	1.2	1.5	2.3	2.8	8.5	18.5	.459	1.2	2.9	.399	7.9	9.1	.869
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:	+6	+16.1	+13.3	+1.3	+4.8	+6.1	+1.6	+0.3	+1.1	-0.6	-0.8	+4.2	+13.1	+.161	+0.4	+0.9	+.025	+4.6	+5.8	+.094
Dirk Nowitzki	13	42.5	23.7	1.9	8.2	10.1	3.3	1.4	1.6	2.5	3.2	7.9	19.7	.402	0.8	2.3	.333	7.1	8.5	.829

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1985-86	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Mavericks Lost NBA Finals

more >>

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:	+1	+10.4	+17.4	+0.9	+5.2	+6.0	+2.9	+0.4	+0.5	-0.1	-0.9	+6.0	+11.9	+.028	+0.6	+1.3	+.019	+4.9	+5.3	+.036
Dirk Nowitzki	81	38.1	26.6	1.4	7.6	9.0	2.8	0.7	1.0	1.9	2.0	9.3	19.3	.480	1.4	3.3	.406	6.7	7.4	.901
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:	+9	+12.6	+17.3	+0.9	+7.5	+8.4	+2.0	+0.2	+0.3	-0.6	-1.1	+4.6	+10.0	+.002	+0.4		+.120	+8.3	+9.2	+.077
Dirk Nowitzki	23	42.7	27.0	2.0	9.6	11.7	2.9	1.1	0.6	2.1	2.8	8.5	18.2	.468	1.0	2.9	.343	8.9	10.0	.895

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1986-87	2006-07
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+4	+8.7	+14.1	+0.9	+4.9	+5.8	+1.1	+0.3	+0.3	-0.9	-0.2	+4.7	+8.2	+.064	+0.2	+0.6	+.031	+4.9	+5.3	+.053
Dirk Nowitzki	78	36.2	24.6	1.6	7.3	8.9	3.4	0.7	0.8	2.1	2.2	8.6	17.2	.502	0.9	2.2	.416	6.4	7.1	.904
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	+10.8	+6.7	+3.8	+4.4	+8.0	+2.7	+0.4	+0.5	-0.2	-0.7	+1.7	+6.9	+.101	+1.2	+0.7	+.275	+4.4	+5.3	+.012
Dirk Nowitzki	6	39.8	19.7	4.2	7.2	11.3	2.3	1.8	1.3	2.3	3.3	6.0	15.7	.383	0.7	3.2	.211	7.0	8.3	.840

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1987-88	2007-08
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+16	+6.6	+14.9	+0.4	+4.4	+4.9	+1.2	+0.4	+0.5	-0.4	-0.4	+5.1	+9.2	+.087	+0.1		+.039	+4.6	+5.2	+.021
Dirk Nowitzki	77	36.0	23.6	1.2	7.3	8.6	3.5	0.7	0.9	2.1	2.6	8.2	17.1	.479	1.0	2.9	.359	6.2	7.1	.879
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:	+19	+17.7	+20.4	+1.4	+8.2	+9.6	+1.2	+0.6	+1.0	-1.1	-0.2	+6.3	+12.7	+.061	+0.2	+1.0	+.070	+7.6	+9.3	+.067
Dirk Nowitzki	5	42.2	26.8	2.0	10.0	12.0	4.0	0.2	1.4	2.0	2.6	8.6	18.2	.473	1.2	3.6	.333	8.4	10.4	.808

Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1988-89	2008-09
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Mavericks Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

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:	+1	+13.4	+18.6	+0.7	+5.3	+6.0	+1.5	+0.1	+0.4	-0.7	-0.1	+6.9	+13.8	+.048	+0.2	+0.5	+.022	+5.0	+5.5	+.019
Dirk Nowitzki	81	37.7	25.9	1.1	7.3	8.4	2.4	0.8	0.8	1.9	2.2	9.6	20.0	.479	0.8	2.1	.359	6.0	6.7	.890
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:	+5	+11.8	+19.1	+0.6	+6.8	+7.4	+1.6	+0.3	+0.3	-1.2	-0.4	+6.3	+11.1	+.102	+0.8	+1.6	+.096	+7.3	+7.7	+.092
Dirk Nowitzki	10	39.4	26.8	1.2	8.9	10.1	3.1	0.9	0.8	2.3	2.1	8.8	17.0	.518	0.6	2.1	.286	8.6	9.3	.925

Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Dirk Nowitzki
Season	1989-90	2009-10
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Dallas Mavericks
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Mavericks Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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:	+1	+14.4	+18.6	+0.3	+4.6	+4.9		+0.1	+0.5	-0.7		+6.5	+12.3	+.094		+0.5	+.103	+5.6	+6.0	+.032
Dirk Nowitzki	81	37.5	25.0	1.0	6.7	7.7	2.7	0.9	1.0	1.8	2.6	8.9	18.5	.481	0.6	1.5	.421	6.6	7.2	.915
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:	+3	+19.6	+24.1		+5.6	+5.5	+0.2		+0.3	-0.9	-0.2	+8.6	+13.8	+.261	+0.4	+0.1	+.321	+6.7	+7.0
Dirk Nowitzki	6	38.8	26.7	1.2	7.0	8.2	3.0	0.8	0.7	1.7	2.5	9.7	17.7	.547	0.7	1.2	.571	6.7	7.0	.952

Additional Years
* Dirk Nowitzki played 9 seasons more than Michael Cooper in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 21, from 2011 to 2019—Dirk Nowitzki played in 5 Playoffs and won one NBA Championship. In those 9 extra years over Michael Cooper, Dirk Nowitzki got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Finals MVP 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 5 All-Star Game