Michael Cooper vs. Karl Malone Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Karl Malone 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, 7 less than Karl Malone, who played 19. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Karl Malone had his rookie season in 1985-86. 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	Karl Malone
Season	1978-79	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+78	+28.3	+12.9	+2.1	+6.7	+8.9	+2.9	+1.0	+0.5	-3.1	-3.3	+5.2	+10.5	+.004				+2.4	+5.0
Karl Malone	81	30.6	14.9	2.1	6.7	8.9	2.9	1.3	0.5	3.4	3.6	6.2	12.5	.496	0.0	0.0	-	2.4	5.0	.481
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Karl Malone	4	36.0	21.8	1.5	6.0	7.5	1.0	2.0	0.0	1.5	4.5	9.5	18.0	.528	0.0	0.0	-	2.8	6.5	.423

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1979-80	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:		+10.7	+12.9	+2.2	+5.4	+7.6	+0.8	+0.3	+0.2	-1.2	-1.3	+5.2	+10.3	+.012	+0.1	+0.1	+.250	+2.5	+4.9	+.178
Karl Malone	82	34.8	21.7	3.4	7.0	10.4	1.9	1.3	0.7	2.9	3.9	8.9	17.3	.512	0.0	0.1	.000	3.9	6.6	.598
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:	+11	+11.0	+10.9	+1.2	+4.7	+5.9	+2.4	+0.7	+0.1	-1.6	-0.6	+3.8	+8.8	+.013		+0.1		+3.3	+4.9	+.139
Karl Malone	5	40.0	20.0	3.0	6.6	9.6	1.2	2.2	0.8	3.4	4.0	7.4	17.6	.420	0.0	0.0	-	5.2	7.2	.722

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1980-81	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	All-Defensive Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Jazz 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	+6.6	+18.3	+1.9	+5.9	+7.9	+1.7	+0.2	+0.4	-2.0	-0.5	+6.5	+12.0	+.029		+0.1	+.211	+5.3	+7.8	+.085
Karl Malone	82	39.0	27.7	3.4	8.6	12.0	2.4	1.4	0.6	4.0	3.6	10.5	20.1	.520	0.0	0.1	.000	6.7	9.6	.700
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:	+8	+10.9	+19.0	+2.3	+6.1	+8.5	+0.8	+0.8	+0.6	-1.2	-0.9	+7.5	+16.5	+.068		+0.9		+4.1	+5.5	+.009
Karl Malone	11	44.9	29.7	3.0	8.8	11.8	1.5	1.2	0.6	3.5	3.2	11.2	23.2	.482	0.0	0.1	.000	7.4	10.2	.723

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1981-82	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz 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:	+4	+10.2	+17.2	+2.1	+5.0	+7.2	+0.3	+0.2	+0.1	-1.6	-0.8	+5.1	+9.7	+.002	+0.1		+.195	+7.0	+9.2	+.047
Karl Malone	80	39.1	29.1	3.2	7.4	10.7	2.7	1.8	0.9	3.6	3.6	10.1	19.5	.519	0.1	0.2	.313	8.8	11.5	.766
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	+17.9	+18.8	+5.9	+6.0	+11.9	+3.1	+0.7	+0.5	-2.2	-1.9	+6.0	+13.1	+.065	+0.1	+0.1		+6.9	+8.3	+.078
Karl Malone	3	45.3	30.7	7.3	9.0	16.3	1.3	1.0	0.3	4.3	5.3	11.0	22.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	8.7	10.7	.813

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1982-83	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Jazz 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:		+11.9	+23.2	+1.8	+6.0	+7.8	+1.0	+0.1		-2.1	-0.7	+7.9	+13.7	+.027	+0.1	+0.2	+.134	+7.3	+9.5	+.023
Karl Malone	82	38.1	31.0	2.8	8.3	11.1	2.8	1.5	0.6	3.7	3.2	11.1	19.8	.562	0.2	0.5	.372	8.5	11.1	.762
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:	+10	+10.4	+15.8	+2.4	+3.9	+6.3	+0.7	+0.5	+0.6	-1.1	-0.8	+5.7	+13.4	+.027	+0.1	+0.3	+.143	+4.5	+6.3	+.073
Karl Malone	5	40.6	25.2	3.2	7.0	10.2	2.2	2.2	1.0	2.4	4.4	9.2	21.0	.438	0.0	0.2	.000	6.8	9.0	.756

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1983-84	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Jazz Lost West 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:		+11.2	+20.0	+2.3	+6.4	+8.6	+2.6	+0.3	+0.2	-1.2		+7.0	+12.9	+.030	+0.5	+1.3	+.028	+6.4	+8.5	+.068
Karl Malone	82	40.3	29.0	2.9	8.9	11.8	3.3	1.1	1.0	3.0	3.3	10.3	19.6	.527	0.0	0.2	.286	8.3	10.8	.770
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:	+12	+8.2	+18.4	+1.6	+7.8	+9.4	+2.5	+0.1	+0.2	-1.5	-0.1	+6.4	+14.1	+.006	+0.6	+0.8	+.333	+6.2	+7.1	+.040
Karl Malone	9	42.6	29.7	2.6	10.8	13.3	3.2	1.0	1.2	2.9	3.9	10.6	23.2	.455	0.0	0.9	.000	8.6	10.1	.846

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1984-85	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz 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:	+1	+11.0	+19.4	+2.1	+6.0	+8.1	+2.2	+0.2		-1.2	-0.3	+6.5	+11.5	+.061	+0.4	+1.3	+.109	+6.9	+9.1	+.087
Karl Malone	81	37.7	28.0	2.8	8.4	11.2	3.0	1.3	0.6	3.1	2.8	9.9	18.7	.526	0.0	0.2	.176	8.3	10.7	.778
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	+16.6	+18.7	+2.1	+5.2	+7.3	+2.3	+0.3	+0.7	-1.0	-1.2	+5.6	+11.2	+.042	+0.4	+1.3	+.308	+8.1	+10.4	+.118
Karl Malone	16	43.0	29.1	2.7	8.6	11.3	2.6	1.4	1.2	2.9	3.6	9.3	17.8	.521	0.0	0.1	.000	10.6	13.1	.805

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1985-86	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game MVP
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Jazz 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:		+10.1	+17.8	+2.3	+6.0	+8.2	+1.9	+0.4	+0.5	-1.1	-0.3	+6.4	+10.2	+.100	+0.8	+1.8	+.187	+5.7	+8.1	+.125
Karl Malone	82	37.8	27.0	2.8	8.4	11.2	3.8	1.5	1.0	2.9	3.2	9.7	17.6	.552	0.0	0.2	.200	7.5	10.2	.740
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	+13.1	+14.3	+1.3	+5.9	+7.1	+2.9	+0.1	+0.1	-2.5	-2.5	+4.9	+11.2	+.016	+1.2	+2.5	+.037	+5.6	+6.8	+.002
Karl Malone	5	43.2	24.0	2.4	8.0	10.4	2.0	1.2	0.4	4.0	4.2	8.8	19.4	.454	0.2	0.4	.500	6.2	7.6	.816

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1986-87	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West Conf 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:		+13.1	+14.7	+2.2	+6.2	+8.4	+0.5	+0.5	+1.0	-1.7	-0.9	+5.5	+9.9	+.059	+1.0	+2.4	+.135	+4.7	+7.2	+.157
Karl Malone	82	40.6	25.2	2.9	8.6	11.5	4.0	1.5	1.5	2.9	3.3	9.4	18.9	.497	0.1	0.4	.250	6.2	9.0	.694
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:	+2	+14.9	+14.1	+2.9	+6.3	+9.1	+1.6				-1.1	+5.6	+12.3	+.017	+1.9	+3.6	+.486	+4.8	+7.0	+.114
Karl Malone	16	43.9	27.1	3.3	9.1	12.4	3.4	1.4	0.8	2.1	3.7	9.9	21.1	.467	0.0	0.3	.000	7.4	10.0	.738

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1987-88	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Jazz Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+21	+8.7	+18.0	+1.1	+5.8	+6.9	+1.2	+0.5	+0.6	-1.2	-1.1	+7.0	+11.0	+.144	+0.8	+2.4	+.052	+4.7	+6.6	+.116
Karl Malone	82	38.1	26.7	1.9	8.7	10.6	3.5	1.6	1.0	2.9	3.3	10.1	18.9	.536	0.1	0.5	.268	6.3	8.5	.742
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	+18.7	+23.8	+2.4	+8.4	+10.8	+1.0	+0.6		-1.9	-1.2	+7.3	+15.1	+.054	+0.8	+2.0	+.070	+10.0	+14.5	+.049
Karl Malone	5	43.2	30.2	3.0	10.2	13.2	3.8	1.4	0.4	2.8	3.6	9.6	20.6	.466	0.2	0.6	.333	10.8	15.6	.692

Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1988-89	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Jazz Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+2	+13.7	+18.4	+1.7	+5.7	+7.4	+0.3	+0.8	+0.3	-1.2	-0.7	+6.9	+12.3	+.088	+0.8	+2.1	+.019	+5.2	+7.4	+.148
Karl Malone	82	38.0	25.7	2.1	7.7	9.8	4.2	1.7	0.7	2.4	3.0	9.6	18.5	.519	0.2	0.5	.400	6.2	8.6	.723
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:	+3	+12.7	+18.8	+2.0	+5.6	+7.6	+0.3	+1.3	+0.1	-1.4	-0.9	+7.9	+16.4	+.053	+1.4	+3.5	+.382	+4.3	+8.2	+.259
Karl Malone	18	40.3	26.5	2.6	7.7	10.3	4.4	1.9	0.6	2.5	3.4	10.4	22.3	.469	0.0	0.2	.000	5.6	9.8	.574

Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Karl Malone
Season	1989-90	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Utah Jazz
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Defensive First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Jazz 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:	+2	+13.5	+21.0	+1.7	+5.4	+7.1	+1.8	+0.6	+0.1	-1.7		+8.1	+13.0	+.163	+0.6	+1.8	+.318	+5.4	+7.2	+.128
Karl Malone	82	36.6	27.4	2.4	7.5	9.9	4.5	1.4	0.6	2.8	2.6	10.5	19.2	.550	0.0	0.2	.000	6.4	8.4	.755
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:	+11	+21.6	+23.4	+1.8	+7.0	+8.7	+0.1	+0.6	+0.4	-1.9	-0.7	+8.3	+17.6	+.149	+0.2	+1.2	+.250	+7.2	+10.0
Karl Malone	20	40.8	26.0	3.0	8.4	11.4	2.9	1.4	0.8	2.7	3.0	9.4	21.5	.435	0.1	0.1	.500	7.2	10.0	.720

Additional Years
* Karl Malone played 7 seasons more than Michael Cooper in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 19, from 1998 to 2004—Karl Malone played in 7 Playoffs. In those 7 extra years over Michael Cooper, Karl Malone got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 Season MVP 2 All-NBA First Team 1 All-NBA Second Team 1 All-NBA Third Team 2 All-Defensive First Team 4 All-Star Game