Michael Cooper vs. Larry Costello Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Larry Costello 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 Larry Costello both played 12 years in the NBA. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Larry Costello had his rookie season in 1954-55. 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.

Note: Larry Costello didn't play in 1955-56.

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1979-80	1956-57
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia Warriors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Warriors Lost East Div Semis

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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
Larry Costello	72	29.3	7.6	-	-	4.5	3.3	-	-	-	2.5	2.6	6.9	.374	-	-	-	2.4	3.1	.788
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
Larry Costello	2	8.0	3.0	-	-	2.5	1.0	-	-	-	1.5	1.5	4.0	.375	-	-	-	0.0	0.5	.000

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1980-81	1957-58
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Nationals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Larry Costello	72	38.1	14.9	-	-	5.3	4.4	-	-	-	3.4	5.3	12.3	.426	-	-	-	4.4	5.3	.847
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
Larry Costello	3	44.7	11.3	-	-	8.3	4.0	-	-	-	2.0	3.3	11.3	.294	-	-	-	4.7	4.7	1.000

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1981-82	1958-59
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nationals Lost East Div Finals

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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
Larry Costello	70	39.3	15.8	-	-	5.2	5.4	-	-	-	3.8	5.9	13.5	.437	-	-	-	4.0	5.0	.802
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
Larry Costello	9	40.1	17.7	-	-	5.9	6.0	-	-	-	4.4	6.0	13.4	.446	-	-	-	5.7	6.8	.836

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1982-83	1959-60
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Nationals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Larry Costello	71	34.8	14.0	-	-	5.5	6.3	-	-	-	3.3	5.2	11.6	.453	-	-	-	3.5	4.1	.862
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
Larry Costello	3	40.7	16.7	-	-	4.7	6.7	-	-	-	5.0	6.7	15.7	.426	-	-	-	3.3	4.0	.833

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1983-84	1960-61
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Nationals Lost East Div Finals

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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
Larry Costello	75	28.9	14.5	-	-	3.9	5.5	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	11.3	.482	-	-	-	3.6	4.5	.799
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
Larry Costello	8	33.6	16.4	-	-	4.4	6.5	-	-	-	4.9	5.3	12.9	.408	-	-	-	5.9	6.9	.855

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1984-85	1961-62
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Nationals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Larry Costello	63	29.4	13.8	-	-	3.9	5.7	-	-	-	3.5	4.9	11.5	.427	-	-	-	3.9	4.7	.837
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
Larry Costello	5	33.4	14.6	-	-	3.2	5.6	-	-	-	4.2	4.4	10.2	.431	-	-	-	5.8	6.6	.879

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1985-86	1962-63
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Syracuse Nationals
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Nationals Lost East Div Semis

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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
Larry Costello	78	26.5	11.0	-	-	3.0	4.3	-	-	-	3.4	3.7	8.5	.432	-	-	-	3.7	4.2	.881
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
Larry Costello	5	26.8	10.2	-	-	0.8	4.6	-	-	-	5.4	3.2	7.4	.432	-	-	-	3.8	4.6	.826

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1986-87	1963-64
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Div Semis

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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
Larry Costello	45	25.3	11.8	-	-	2.3	3.7	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	9.1	.468	-	-	-	3.3	3.8	.865
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
Larry Costello	5	7.2	3.2	-	-	0.6	0.8	-	-	-	2.8	0.6	2.8	.214	-	-	-	2.0	2.0	1.000

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1987-88	1964-65
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers Lost East Div 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
Larry Costello	64	30.7	13.5	-	-	2.6	4.3	-	-	-	3.8	4.8	10.9	.445	-	-	-	3.8	4.3	.877
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
Larry Costello	10	20.7	5.5	-	-	1.2	2.0	-	-	-	4.3	2.2	5.3	.415	-	-	-	1.1	1.6	.688

Note: Larry Costello didn't play in 1965-66.

Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Larry Costello
Season	1988-89	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

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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
Larry Costello	49	19.9	7.8	-	-	2.1	2.9	-	-	-	2.9	2.7	6.0	.444	-	-	-	2.4	2.7	.902
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
Larry Costello	2	12.5	8.5	-	-	2.0	1.5	-	-	-	1.0	3.0	4.0	.750	-	-	-	2.5	2.5	1.000