Michael Cooper vs. James Worthy Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Worthy 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 and James Worthy both played 12 years in the NBA. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while James Worthy had his rookie season in 1982-83. 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	James Worthy
Season	1978-79	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	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:	+74	+23.3	+11.4	+2.0	+3.1	+5.2	+1.7	+0.9	+0.8	-2.0	-2.6	+4.8	+8.0	+.079				+1.8	+2.9
James Worthy	77	25.6	13.4	2.0	3.1	5.2	1.7	1.2	0.8	2.3	2.9	5.8	10.0	.579	0.0	0.1	.250	1.8	2.9	.624
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Michael Cooper nor James Worthy played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1979-80	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA 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:		+5.4	+5.7	+0.7	+2.8	+3.5	+0.2	+0.1	+0.4	-0.5	-0.4	+2.3	+3.9	+.032	+0.1	+0.1	+.250	+1.0	+1.4	+.017
James Worthy	82	29.5	14.5	1.9	4.4	6.3	2.5	0.9	0.9	2.2	3.0	6.0	10.9	.556	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.759
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	+4.7	+8.6	+0.1	+1.4	+1.3	+0.9	+0.2	+0.2	-0.1	-0.7	+4.2	+4.2	+.192			+.500	+0.1	+1.0	+.252
James Worthy	21	33.7	17.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	2.7	1.3	0.5	1.9	2.7	7.8	13.0	.599	0.0	0.1	.500	2.0	3.3	.609

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1980-81	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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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	+1.3	+8.2	+0.6	+1.6	+2.3	+1.6	+0.5	+0.2	-0.5	-0.6	+3.6	+5.2	+.081		+0.1	+.211	+1.0	+1.3	+.009
James Worthy	80	33.7	17.6	2.1	4.3	6.4	2.5	1.1	0.8	2.5	2.5	7.6	13.3	.572	0.0	0.1	.000	2.4	3.1	.776
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:	+16	+1.1	+10.8	+1.1	+0.5	+1.8	+0.1	+1.1	+0.7	-0.9	-0.5	+5.0	+7.4	+.072	+0.1	+0.9	+.500	+0.6	+1.1	+.038
James Worthy	19	32.9	21.5	1.8	3.2	5.1	2.2	0.9	0.7	1.4	2.8	8.7	14.1	.622	0.1	0.1	.500	3.9	5.8	.676

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1981-82	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals

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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	+3.8	+8.1	+0.7	+0.9	+1.7	+0.3	+0.5	+0.2		-0.2	+3.4	+4.7	+.062			+.118	+1.4	+1.9	+.042
James Worthy	75	32.7	20.0	1.8	3.3	5.2	2.7	1.1	1.0	2.0	2.6	8.4	14.5	.579	0.0	0.2	.000	3.2	4.2	.771
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:		+11.1	+7.7	+0.2	+0.1	+0.2	+1.2	+0.6	+0.1	-0.5	-0.3	+3.6	+6.6	+.007	+0.1	+0.2	+.500	+0.5	+1.0	+.054
James Worthy	14	38.5	19.6	1.6	3.1	4.6	3.2	1.1	0.7	2.6	3.1	8.6	15.5	.558	0.0	0.3	.000	2.3	3.4	.681

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1982-83	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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:		+8.2	+11.6	+0.9	+1.5	+2.4	+1.0	+0.1	+0.4	-0.4		+4.7	+8.6	+.004	+0.1	+0.1	+.238	+2.4	+3.1	+.034
James Worthy	82	34.4	19.4	1.9	3.8	5.7	2.8	1.3	1.0	2.0	2.5	7.9	14.7	.539	0.0	0.2	.000	3.6	4.7	.751
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:	+3	+7.6	+14.2	+0.9	+0.8	+1.7	+0.6	+0.1	+0.8	-0.9	-1.3	+6.3	+9.0	+.126	+0.1	+0.4	+.143	+1.8	+2.7	+.076
James Worthy	18	37.8	23.6	1.7	3.9	5.6	3.5	1.6	1.2	2.2	2.3	9.8	16.6	.591	0.0	0.1	.000	4.1	5.4	.753

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1983-84	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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:	+7	+6.3	+10.7	+1.1	+0.8	+1.8	+2.0	+0.4	+0.1	-0.3	-1.0	+4.9	+8.8	+.034	+0.5	+1.3	+.189	+1.3	+1.8	+.042
James Worthy	75	35.4	19.7	1.7	3.3	5.0	3.9	1.0	0.7	2.1	2.3	8.2	15.5	.531	0.0	0.2	.125	3.2	4.1	.796
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:	+3	+2.9	+9.8	+1.2	+0.6	+1.9	+1.3	+0.3	+0.2	-0.9	-1.4	+4.3	+7.2	+.062	+0.6	+1.3	+.222	+1.6	+2.3	+.048
James Worthy	24	37.3	21.1	2.2	3.6	5.8	4.4	1.4	0.8	2.3	2.4	8.5	16.3	.523	0.0	0.4	.111	4.0	5.3	.758

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1984-85	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers 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:	+1	+9.8	+11.9	+1.4	+1.6	+2.9	+1.6	+0.2	+0.1	-0.3	-0.3	+5.3	+8.6	+.083	+0.4	+1.2	+.198	+1.7	+2.4	+.083
James Worthy	81	36.5	20.5	2.1	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.3	0.7	2.2	2.2	8.7	15.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.087	3.1	4.0	.782
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:	+4	+13.6	+14.4	+1.9	+0.9	+2.7	+2.1	+0.1	+0.6	-0.3		+6.5	+11.4	+.004	+0.2	+0.9	+.067	+1.7	+2.6	+.135
James Worthy	15	40.0	24.8	2.5	4.3	6.7	2.8	1.2	1.1	2.2	2.4	10.2	18.0	.567	0.2	0.5	.375	4.2	5.3	.788

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1985-86	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West 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:	+2	+9.3	+11.9	+1.5	+1.6	+3.0	+2.1	+0.1	+0.1	-0.2	-0.5	+5.6	+8.8	+.096	+0.6	+1.4	+.081	+1.3	+1.9	+.083
James Worthy	80	37.0	21.1	2.0	4.0	6.0	3.6	1.2	0.6	2.0	2.4	8.9	16.2	.548	0.2	0.6	.306	3.1	4.0	.782
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	+10.6	+14.5	+0.1	+2.2	+2.3	+1.9	+0.3		-0.9	-0.3	+6.1	+11.9	+.027	+1.2	+2.0	+.213	+3.4	+4.0	+.019
James Worthy	9	40.7	24.2	1.2	4.3	5.6	3.0	1.6	0.3	2.4	2.0	10.0	20.1	.497	0.2	0.9	.250	4.0	4.8	.837

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1986-87	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA 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:	+4	+11.1	+10.9	+0.7	+0.8	+1.5	+1.0	+0.3	+0.1	-0.4	-0.9	+5.3	+9.7	+.054	+0.8	+1.6	+.096	+1.2	+1.6	+.054
James Worthy	78	38.6	21.4	1.4	3.2	4.6	3.5	1.3	0.4	1.6	1.5	9.2	18.7	.492	0.3	1.2	.289	2.7	3.4	.797
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:		+11.7	+8.1	+1.0	+0.1	+0.8	+1.1	+0.3	+0.7	-0.1	-0.7	+4.6	+10.4	+.019	+1.7	+2.6	+.319	+0.3	+1.0	+.116
James Worthy	18	40.7	21.1	1.4	2.7	4.1	3.9	1.1	0.1	2.2	1.9	8.9	19.2	.465	0.2	1.3	.167	2.9	4.0	.736

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	James Worthy
Season	1987-88	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
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:	+7	+9.6	+11.2	+1.0	+0.9	+1.9		+0.3		-0.7	-0.6	+5.2	+10.7	+.055	+0.7	+2.1	+.111	+1.5	+1.9	+.044
James Worthy	54	39.0	19.9	1.8	3.8	5.6	4.7	1.4	0.4	2.4	1.6	8.3	18.6	.447	0.2	0.8	.209	3.1	3.8	.814
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
James Worthy	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-