Michael Cooper vs. Doc Rivers Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Doc Rivers 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 / Games against each other

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 Doc Rivers, who played 13. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Doc Rivers had his rookie season in 1983-84. 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 achivements, 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
Doc Rivers	13	10	1983-84 to 1995-96

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13


Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1978-79	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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	-
Doc Rivers	81	23.9	9.3	0.9	1.8	2.7	3.9	1.6	0.4	2.1	3.5	3.1	6.7	.462	0.0	0.1	.167	3.1	4.0	.785

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Doc Rivers	5	26.0	13.6	1.4	0.6	2.0	3.2	2.4	0.8	1.8	3.2	3.2	6.4	.500	0.0	0.6	.000	7.2	8.2	.878


Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1979-80	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	69	30.8	14.1	1.0	2.1	3.1	5.9	2.4	0.8	2.6	3.6	4.8	10.2	.476	0.2	0.5	.417	4.2	5.5	.770

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
Doc Rivers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1980-81	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	53	29.6	11.5	0.9	2.1	3.1	8.4	2.3	0.2	2.7	3.5	4.2	8.8	.474	0.0	0.3	.000	3.2	5.3	.608

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
Doc Rivers	9	29.1	12.7	1.1	3.6	4.7	8.7	2.0	0.0	2.9	4.2	4.4	10.2	.435	0.3	0.7	.500	3.4	4.7	.738


Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1981-82	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	82	31.6	12.8	1.0	2.6	3.6	10.0	2.1	0.4	2.6	3.5	4.2	9.2	.451	0.0	0.3	.190	4.5	5.4	.828

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
Doc Rivers	8	30.6	7.8	0.8	2.6	3.4	11.3	1.1	0.4	3.1	4.0	2.3	5.9	.383	0.0	0.0	-	3.3	6.5	.500


Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1982-83	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	80	31.3	14.2	1.0	3.5	4.6	9.3	1.8	0.5	2.6	3.4	5.0	11.1	.453	0.1	0.4	.273	4.0	5.3	.758

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
Doc Rivers	12	34.1	15.7	0.7	4.3	4.9	9.6	2.1	0.2	2.1	3.3	5.9	11.6	.511	0.6	1.8	.318	3.3	3.6	.907


Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1983-84	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	76	32.4	13.6	1.2	2.6	3.8	6.9	2.4	0.5	2.1	3.5	4.9	10.7	.455	0.6	1.6	.347	3.3	3.8	.861

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
Doc Rivers	5	38.2	13.4	0.8	4.0	4.8	6.8	1.4	0.4	2.4	4.4	4.4	11.4	.386	1.2	3.8	.316	3.4	4.8	.708


Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1984-85	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	48	31.8	12.5	1.0	3.2	4.2	5.5	2.4	0.5	2.0	3.1	4.5	10.0	.454	0.5	1.4	.364	2.9	3.5	.812

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
Doc Rivers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1985-86	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Atlanta Hawks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Hawks Lost East Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	79	32.7	15.2	0.6	2.6	3.2	4.3	1.9	0.6	1.6	2.7	5.6	12.9	.435	1.1	3.3	.336	2.8	3.3	.844

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
Doc Rivers	5	34.6	15.6	1.2	2.8	4.0	3.0	1.0	0.4	0.8	2.8	6.0	12.8	.469	0.2	2.2	.091	3.4	3.8	.895


Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1986-87	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Clippers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	59	28.1	10.9	0.4	2.1	2.5	3.9	1.9	0.3	1.6	2.8	3.8	9.0	.424	0.4	1.6	.283	2.8	3.3	.832

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
Doc Rivers	5	37.4	15.2	0.8	3.0	3.8	4.2	1.2	0.0	0.6	3.2	5.0	11.2	.446	0.8	1.6	.500	4.4	5.4	.815


Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1987-88	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Knicks Lost East Conf Finals

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	77	24.5	7.8	0.3	2.2	2.5	5.3	1.6	0.1	1.5	2.8	2.8	6.4	.437	0.5	1.6	.317	1.7	2.1	.821

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
Doc Rivers	15	30.5	10.2	0.4	2.2	2.6	5.7	1.9	0.1	2.0	2.9	3.2	7.1	.453	0.7	2.1	.355	3.1	4.0	.767


Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1988-89	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	19	26.3	7.5	0.2	1.8	2.1	5.3	1.3	0.3	1.5	2.3	2.9	6.7	.433	1.0	2.7	.365	0.7	1.2	.636

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
Doc Rivers	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	1989-90	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Spurs Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

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
Doc Rivers	63	15.7	5.1	0.2	1.5	1.7	2.6	1.0	0.3	1.0	2.4	1.7	4.8	.358	0.7	2.0	.354	1.0	1.3	.732

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	-
Doc Rivers	15	21.2	7.8	0.2	1.7	1.9	1.6	0.9	0.6	1.2	2.7	2.5	6.3	.389	1.1	3.1	.370	1.7	2.1	.839


Season 13
	Michael Cooper	Doc Rivers
Season	-	1995-96
Team	-	San Antonio Spurs
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Spurs Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Doc Rivers	78	15.8	4.0	0.4	1.4	1.8	1.6	0.9	0.3	0.7	2.2	1.4	3.7	.372	0.6	1.8	.343	0.6	0.8	.750

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Doc Rivers	2	10.0	1.5	0.0	0.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.5	0.5	1.5	.333	0.5	1.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-

Michael Cooper vs. Doc Rivers Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Doc Rivers 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

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12

Season 13