Michael Cooper vs. Mel Counts Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Mel Counts 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 Mel Counts both played 12 years in the NBA. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Mel Counts had his rookie season in 1964-65. 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.

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12
Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1978-79	1964-65
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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	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	-
Mel Counts	54	10.6	4.8	-	-	4.9	0.4	-	-	-	2.5	1.9	5.0	.368	-	-	-	1.1	1.4	.784
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Mel Counts	4	7.5	2.3	-	-	2.8	0.3	-	-	-	2.5	1.0	3.8	.267	-	-	-	0.3	0.3	1.000

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1979-80	1965-66
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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
Mel Counts	67	15.2	8.4	-	-	6.4	0.7	-	-	-	3.1	3.3	8.2	.403	-	-	-	1.8	2.2	.828
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
Mel Counts	10	8.2	4.3	-	-	4.0	0.3	-	-	-	2.6	1.4	3.9	.359	-	-	-	1.5	1.7	.882

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1980-81	1966-67
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Baltimore Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West 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
Mel Counts	56	15.4	7.6	-	-	6.1	0.9	-	-	-	3.3	3.2	7.5	.422	-	-	-	1.2	1.7	.734
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
Mel Counts	3	9.7	4.7	-	-	2.7	0.0	-	-	-	2.0	1.7	6.3	.263	-	-	-	1.3	1.3	1.000

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1981-82	1967-68
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA 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
Mel Counts	82	21.2	11.7	-	-	8.9	1.7	-	-	-	3.8	4.7	9.9	.475	-	-	-	2.3	3.1	.748
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
Mel Counts	15	20.4	8.6	-	-	8.9	1.6	-	-	-	3.5	3.6	6.7	.535	-	-	-	1.4	2.1	.677

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1982-83	1968-69
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA 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	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
Mel Counts	77	24.2	12.4	-	-	7.8	1.4	-	-	-	2.9	5.1	11.3	.450	-	-	-	2.3	2.9	.805
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
Mel Counts	18	24.6	11.2	-	-	7.9	1.4	-	-	-	3.7	4.1	10.7	.385	-	-	-	3.0	3.9	.761

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1983-84	1969-70
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA 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
Mel Counts	81	27.1	12.6	-	-	8.4	2.0	-	-	-	3.8	5.4	12.6	.427	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.776
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
Mel Counts	14	15.1	6.1	-	-	5.3	1.1	-	-	-	3.4	2.6	6.3	.420	-	-	-	0.8	0.9	.846

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1984-85	1970-71
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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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
Mel Counts	80	20.9	11.0	-	-	6.3	1.7	-	-	-	3.5	4.6	10.0	.457	-	-	-	1.9	2.5	.753
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
Mel Counts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1985-86	1971-72
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Phoenix Suns
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

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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
Mel Counts	76	11.9	5.2	-	-	3.4	1.3	-	-	-	2.1	1.9	4.5	.427	-	-	-	1.3	1.8	.721
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
Mel Counts	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1986-87	1972-73
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost NBA 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	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
Mel Counts	66	10.0	4.6	-	-	3.8	1.0	-	-	-	1.6	2.0	4.5	.449	-	-	-	0.6	0.9	.672
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
Mel Counts	17	19.2	9.1	-	-	6.1	1.6	-	-	-	3.0	3.6	7.8	.459	-	-	-	1.9	2.4	.780

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Mel Counts
Season	1987-88	1973-74
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West Conf 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	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
Mel Counts	45	11.1	3.2	1.2	2.0	3.2	1.2	0.4	0.5	-	1.9	1.4	3.7	.365	-	-	-	0.5	0.7	.727
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
Mel Counts	4	8.5	3.0	0.5	1.0	1.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	-	0.8	1.5	3.0	.500	-	-	-	0.0	0.0	-