Michael Cooper vs. Kevin Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Kevin Johnson 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 Kevin Johnson both played 12 years in the NBA. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Kevin Johnson had his rookie season in 1987-88. 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	Kevin Johnson
Season	1979-80	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Most Improved Player
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns Lost West Conf 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:	+1	+15.1	+11.6	+0.6	+2.0	+1.4	+9.5	+0.7	+0.2	-2.3	-0.2	+3.3	+6.9	+.019	+0.1	+0.1	+.159	+4.9	+5.4	+.106
Kevin Johnson	81	39.2	20.4	0.6	3.6	4.2	12.2	1.7	0.3	4.0	2.8	7.0	13.9	.505	0.0	0.3	.091	6.3	7.1	.882
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:	+4	+12.2	+14.7	+0.8	+1.4	+0.6	+8.7	+0.1	+0.3	-2.8	-1.1	+3.9	+6.4	+.088	+0.3	+0.7	+.300	+6.6	+6.9	+.066
Kevin Johnson	12	41.2	23.8	1.0	3.3	4.3	12.3	1.6	0.4	4.6	2.3	7.5	15.2	.495	0.3	0.8	.300	8.5	9.2	.927

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1980-81	1989-90
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Suns Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+7	+5.2	+13.1	+0.9	+0.4	+0.5	+7.3	+0.3	+0.8	-1.6	-1.2	+3.8	+7.6	+.008	+0.1	+0.4	+.016	+5.4	+6.3	+.053
Kevin Johnson	74	37.6	22.5	0.6	3.1	3.6	11.4	1.3	0.2	3.6	1.9	7.8	15.7	.499	0.1	0.6	.195	6.8	8.1	.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:	+13	+2.4	+10.6	+0.1	+0.1		+8.3	+0.4		-1.6	-0.5	+4.0	+9.4	+.071	+0.1	+0.3	+.182	+2.5	+2.3	+.107
Kevin Johnson	16	36.4	21.3	0.6	2.8	3.3	10.6	1.6	0.0	3.9	1.8	7.7	16.1	.479	0.1	0.7	.182	5.8	7.0	.821

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1981-82	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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:	+1	+7.1	+10.3	+0.4	+0.4		+7.1	+0.5	+0.7	-1.5	-0.5	+2.7	+5.1	+.001	+0.1	+0.4	+.087	+4.9	+5.7	+.030
Kevin Johnson	77	36.0	22.2	0.7	2.8	3.5	10.1	2.1	0.1	3.5	2.3	7.7	14.9	.516	0.1	0.6	.205	6.7	8.0	.843
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:	+10	+9.1	+0.9	+0.9	+0.2	+1.1	+5.4	+1.2	+0.5	-0.9	-1.1	+1.0	+4.4	+.263	+0.2	+1.7	+.357	+2.7	+5.1	+.135
Kevin Johnson	4	36.5	12.8	0.5	2.8	3.3	9.8	0.5	0.3	3.0	2.3	4.0	13.3	.302	0.3	1.8	.143	4.5	7.5	.600

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1982-83	1991-92
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+4	+11.0	+11.9	+0.2	+0.7	+0.4	+6.9	+0.1	+0.3	-1.9	-0.2	+3.7	+8.3	+.056		+0.3	+.021	+4.5	+5.5	+.022
Kevin Johnson	78	37.2	19.7	0.8	3.0	3.7	10.7	1.5	0.3	3.5	2.3	6.9	14.4	.479	0.1	0.6	.217	5.7	7.1	.807
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:	+7	+11.7	+14.2	+0.2		+0.2	+8.7	+0.2	+0.1	-1.8	-0.6	+4.3	+8.4	+.019	+0.3	+0.3	+.357	+5.5	+6.3	+.032
Kevin Johnson	8	41.9	23.6	1.0	3.1	4.1	11.6	1.5	0.3	3.1	3.0	7.8	16.0	.484	0.4	0.8	.500	7.8	9.0	.861

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1983-84	1992-93
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Suns Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+33	+4.4	+7.1		+1.0	+1.1	+1.9	+0.3	+0.4	-1.3	-1.3	+2.5	+4.8	+.002	+0.5	+1.3	+.189	+2.7	+3.3	+.019
Kevin Johnson	49	33.5	16.1	0.6	1.5	2.1	7.8	1.7	0.4	3.1	2.0	5.8	11.5	.499	0.0	0.2	.125	4.6	5.6	.819
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:	+2	+5.3	+6.5	+0.6	+0.7	+1.2	+2.2	+0.4	+0.4	-2.3	-1.3	+2.0	+3.9	+.019	+0.6	+1.6	+.333	+3.0	+3.8	+.011
Kevin Johnson	23	39.7	17.8	0.4	2.3	2.7	7.9	1.5	0.6	3.7	2.5	6.2	13.0	.480	0.0	0.1	.000	5.4	6.8	.795

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1984-85	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns Lost West Conf Semis

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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:	+15	+9.9	+11.4	+0.1	+0.7	+0.6	+4.3	+0.8	+0.5	-1.6	-0.6	+3.7	+7.4	+.022	+0.3	+1.1	+.063	+4.3	+5.3	+.046
Kevin Johnson	67	36.6	20.0	0.8	1.7	2.5	9.5	1.9	0.1	3.5	1.9	7.1	14.6	.487	0.1	0.4	.222	5.7	6.9	.819
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:	+9	+16.3	+16.2	+0.4	+0.9	+0.5	+4.7	+0.1	+0.4	-1.5	-0.1	+6.0	+14.6	+.105	+0.1	+0.4	+.008	+4.4	+5.4	+.071
Kevin Johnson	10	42.7	26.6	1.0	2.5	3.5	9.6	1.0	0.1	3.4	2.3	9.7	21.2	.458	0.3	1.0	.300	6.9	8.1	.852

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1985-86	1994-95
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Suns 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:	+35	+1.1	+6.3	+0.2	+0.6	+0.6	+2.0	+0.1	+0.1	-0.4	-1.0	+1.9	+3.7	+.018	+0.7	+1.4	+.233	+3.2	+4.0	+.055
Kevin Johnson	47	28.8	15.5	0.7	1.8	2.4	7.7	1.0	0.4	2.2	1.9	5.2	11.1	.470	0.1	0.6	.154	5.0	6.1	.810
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:	+4	+7.0	+15.1	+0.4	+1.3	+0.8	+4.4	+0.4	+0.1	-1.9	-0.8	+4.7	+6.8	+.103	+0.9	+1.9	+.037	+6.5	+7.6	+.027
Kevin Johnson	10	37.1	24.8	0.7	3.4	4.1	9.3	0.9	0.4	3.4	2.5	8.6	15.0	.573	0.5	1.0	.500	7.1	8.4	.845

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1986-87	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+26	+8.3	+8.2	+0.1	+0.8	+0.8	+4.7	+0.5	+0.3	-1.8	-0.2	+2.2	+3.0	+.069	+0.7	+1.8	+.017	+4.6	+5.3	+.008
Kevin Johnson	56	35.8	18.7	0.8	3.2	3.9	9.2	1.5	0.2	3.0	2.6	6.1	12.0	.507	0.4	1.0	.368	6.1	7.1	.859
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:	+14	+8.8	+4.3	+0.1	+1.0	+1.0	+5.8	+0.9	+0.3	-0.7	-0.6	+2.5	+5.5	+.010	+1.6	+2.9	+.236	+0.9	+1.3	+.028
Kevin Johnson	4	37.8	17.3	0.5	3.8	4.3	10.8	0.5	0.5	2.8	2.0	6.8	14.3	.474	0.3	1.0	.250	3.5	4.3	.824

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Kevin Johnson
Season	1987-88	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Suns 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:	+9	+8.6	+11.4		+0.1	+0.1	+4.6	+0.4	+0.2	-1.4	-0.2	+3.2	+4.8	+.104	+0.4		+.121	+4.7	+5.5	+.006
Kevin Johnson	70	38.0	20.1	0.8	2.8	3.6	9.3	1.5	0.2	3.1	2.0	6.3	12.7	.496	1.3	2.9	.441	6.3	7.4	.852
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	+17.1	+10.4	+1.0	+1.0	+2.0	+3.2	+1.8	+0.4	-2.7	-0.6	+2.9	+12.1	+.117	+0.4	+1.8	+.267	+5.0	+5.5	+.138
Kevin Johnson	5	41.6	16.8	1.6	2.8	4.4	6.0	2.6	0.0	3.6	3.0	5.2	17.6	.295	0.6	4.4	.136	5.8	6.6	.879

Note: Kevin Johnson didn't play in 1998-99.