Michael Cooper vs. Rasheed Wallace Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Rasheed Wallace 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, 4 less than Rasheed Wallace, who played 16. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Rasheed Wallace had his rookie season in 1995-96. 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	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1978-79	1995-96
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Washington Bullets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second 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:	+62	+25.2	+8.1	+1.4	+3.2	+4.7	+1.3	+0.3	+0.8	-1.3	-2.9	+3.2	+6.7	+.013				+1.2	+1.8
Rasheed Wallace	65	27.5	10.1	1.4	3.2	4.7	1.3	0.6	0.8	1.6	3.2	4.2	8.7	.487	0.4	1.3	.329	1.2	1.8	.650
Playoffs Stats
* Neiher Michael Cooper nor Rasheed Wallace played in the postseason in their season 1

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1979-80	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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:	+20	+6.4	+6.3	+0.8	+3.2	+4.0	+1.5	+0.2	+0.5	-0.1	-0.6	+2.4	+4.0	+.034		+0.3	+.023	+1.3	+2.6	+.138
Rasheed Wallace	62	30.5	15.1	2.0	4.8	6.8	1.2	0.8	1.0	1.8	3.2	6.1	11.0	.558	0.1	0.5	.273	2.7	4.3	.638
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:	+12	+8.3	+10.7	+0.2	+2.1	+2.3	+2.1	+1.0	+0.2	-0.3	-0.9	+4.7	+5.2	+.182	+0.5	+1.2	+.400	+0.9	+2.7	+.311
Rasheed Wallace	4	37.3	19.8	2.0	4.0	6.0	1.5	0.5	0.5	1.5	4.3	8.3	14.0	.589	0.5	1.3	.400	2.8	5.0	.550

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1980-81	1997-98
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+4	+5.2	+5.2	+0.2	+1.8	+2.1	+1.6	+0.6	+0.1	-0.2	-0.4	+2.1	+3.3	+.042	+0.1	+0.3	+.006	+1.0	+1.8	+.123
Rasheed Wallace	77	37.6	14.6	1.7	4.5	6.2	2.5	1.0	1.1	2.2	3.5	6.1	11.4	.533	0.1	0.5	.205	2.4	3.6	.662
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:	+1	+5.5	+3.8	+1.1	+0.3	+1.5	+0.5	+1.5	+0.5	-1.0	-1.7	+2.1	+5.1	+.061	+1.0	+0.3	+.800	+1.3	+0.7	+.214
Rasheed Wallace	4	39.5	14.5	1.8	3.0	4.8	2.8	0.5	0.5	1.3	4.0	5.8	11.8	.489	1.0	1.3	.800	2.0	4.0	.500

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1981-82	1998-99
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers 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:	+27		+0.9	+0.1	+1.4	+1.4	+1.8	+0.6	+0.3	-0.4	-0.8	+0.1	+0.1	+.009	+0.3	+0.4	+.301	+0.9	+1.4	+.081
Rasheed Wallace	49	28.9	12.8	1.2	3.8	4.9	1.2	1.0	1.1	1.6	3.6	4.9	9.7	.508	0.3	0.6	.419	2.7	3.7	.732
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:	+1	+8.6	+2.9	+0.1	+0.5	+0.4	+2.9	+0.2		-0.9	-0.4	+0.8	+2.3	+.051		+0.6	+.389	+1.4	+2.1	+.011
Rasheed Wallace	13	36.0	14.8	1.3	3.5	4.8	1.5	1.5	0.8	1.2	3.8	5.8	11.2	.514	0.1	0.7	.111	3.2	4.5	.724

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1982-83	1999-00
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals

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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:	+1	+8.9	+8.6	+0.6	+3.1	+3.7	+2.0	+0.3	+0.7	-0.3	-0.2	+3.5	+6.8	+.016		+0.3	+.078	+1.7	+2.5	+.081
Rasheed Wallace	81	35.1	16.4	1.6	5.4	7.0	1.8	1.1	1.3	1.9	2.7	6.7	12.9	.519	0.1	0.6	.160	2.9	4.1	.704
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:	+1	+7.7	+8.5	+1.1	+1.4	+2.5	+1.1	+0.8	+0.9	-0.1	-0.3	+3.4	+6.5	+.024	+0.4	+0.3	+.472	+1.3	+2.0	+.056
Rasheed Wallace	16	37.9	17.9	1.9	4.5	6.4	1.8	0.9	1.3	1.4	3.3	6.9	14.1	.489	0.5	0.8	.615	3.6	4.7	.773

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1983-84	2000-01
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+5	+9.1	+10.2	+1.3	+3.4	+4.6	+3.1	+0.2	+1.0	-0.3	-0.6	+4.4	+8.6	+.004	+0.2	+0.6	+.007	+1.3	+1.9	+.072
Rasheed Wallace	77	38.2	19.2	1.9	5.9	7.8	2.8	1.2	1.8	2.1	2.7	7.7	15.3	.501	0.7	2.1	.321	3.2	4.2	.766
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:	+18	+8.3	+5.4	+0.7	+3.3	+4.1	+3.4	+0.8		-0.1	-0.8	+2.1	+7.9	+.088	+0.7	+2.0	+.031	+0.3	+1.7	+.235
Rasheed Wallace	3	42.7	16.7	1.7	6.3	8.0	2.3	0.3	1.0	1.3	3.0	6.3	17.0	.373	1.3	3.7	.364	2.7	4.7	.571

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1984-85	2001-02
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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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:	+3	+10.8	+10.7	+1.0	+4.0	+5.1	+3.3	+0.2	+0.7	-0.2	-0.2	+4.2	+9.1	+.004	+1.0	+2.5	+.075	+1.1	+1.9	+.131
Rasheed Wallace	79	37.5	19.3	1.7	6.4	8.2	1.9	1.3	1.3	1.7	2.7	7.6	16.3	.469	1.4	4.0	.360	2.5	3.5	.734
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:	+16	+15.3	+14.9	+2.7	+5.6	+8.3	+3.2	+0.4	+0.2	-1.2	-1.6	+5.6	+16.4	+.157	+1.9	+4.3	+.104	+1.8	+2.6	+.110
Rasheed Wallace	3	41.7	25.3	3.3	9.0	12.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	0.7	4.0	9.3	23.0	.406	2.3	5.7	.412	4.3	5.3	.813

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1985-86	2002-03
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Trail Blazers 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:	+8	+8.6	+8.9	+1.0	+3.5	+4.4	+3.6	+0.2	+0.5	-0.1	-0.1	+3.7	+7.4	+.019	+0.7	+2.1	+.029	+0.9	+1.6	+.130
Rasheed Wallace	74	36.3	18.1	1.5	5.9	7.4	2.1	0.9	1.0	1.9	3.0	7.0	14.8	.471	1.5	4.1	.358	2.7	3.7	.735
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:	+7	+7.0	+7.7	+0.3	+1.6	+1.8	+2.3	+0.7	+0.4	-0.6	-2.0	+2.4	+5.7	+.016	+0.6	+2.1	+.063	+2.3	+3.2	+.104
Rasheed Wallace	7	37.1	17.4	1.4	3.7	5.1	2.6	0.6	0.7	0.9	3.7	6.3	13.9	.454	2.0	5.0	.400	2.9	4.0	.714

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1986-87	2003-04
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Portland Trail Blazers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	NBA Champion

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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:	+14	+7.6	+5.5	+0.8	+2.9	+3.7	+2.2	+0.1	+1.3	-0.6	-0.4	+2.4	+5.3	+.002	+0.1	+0.8	+.054	+0.8	+1.3	+.115
Rasheed Wallace	68	35.1	16.0	1.5	5.3	6.8	2.3	0.9	1.8	1.8	2.8	6.3	14.3	.436	1.2	3.6	.331	2.3	3.1	.736
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:	+5	+6.0		+1.6	+2.9	+4.5	+3.4	+0.8	+1.2	-0.2	-0.8	+0.8	+3.6	+.071	+1.2	+0.9	+.243	+0.6	+0.4	+.085
Rasheed Wallace	23	35.0	13.0	2.0	5.7	7.8	1.6	0.6	2.0	1.9	3.4	5.1	12.4	.413	0.7	3.0	.243	2.0	2.6	.767

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1987-88	2004-05
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost NBA Finals

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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:	+18	+4.6	+5.8	+1.4	+3.0	+4.5	+2.9	+0.3	+1.1	-0.1	-0.8	+2.8	+5.5	+.048		+0.1	+.002	+0.1	+0.6	+.161
Rasheed Wallace	79	34.0	14.5	2.2	5.9	8.2	1.8	0.8	1.5	1.6	3.0	5.9	13.4	.440	0.9	3.0	.318	1.7	2.5	.697
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:	+1	+8.5	+7.2	+1.0	+3.6	+4.5	+1.5	+0.2	+1.4	-0.6	-1.4	+3.1	+6.9	+.027	+0.2	+0.8	+.066	+0.8	+1.1
Rasheed Wallace	25	33.0	13.6	1.6	5.4	6.9	1.3	1.0	1.8	1.5	3.8	5.4	12.4	.439	1.2	3.4	.337	1.6	2.2	.741

Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Rasheed Wallace
Season	1988-89	2005-06
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons Lost East 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:		+10.5	+7.8	+0.7	+3.7	+4.4	+1.6	+0.1	+1.2	-0.1	-0.6	+3.0	+7.1	+.001	+0.9	+2.8	+.024	+0.7	+1.1	+.128
Rasheed Wallace	80	34.8	15.1	1.1	5.7	6.8	2.3	1.0	1.6	1.1	2.9	5.7	13.3	.430	1.9	5.4	.357	1.7	2.3	.743
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	+7.3	+6.4	+0.3	+3.3	+3.6	+2.9		+0.3	-0.3	-1.1	+2.8	+6.5	+.014	+0.4	+0.7	+.023	+0.3	+1.5	+.306
Rasheed Wallace	18	34.9	14.1	0.9	5.4	6.3	1.8	0.6	0.8	1.4	3.6	5.3	12.4	.430	1.8	4.4	.405	1.6	3.1	.527

Additional Years
* Rasheed Wallace played 4 seasons more than Michael Cooper in the NBA. In that period—his seasons 13 to 16, from 2008 to 2013—Rasheed Wallace played in 3 Playoffs. In those 4 extra years over Michael Cooper, Rasheed Wallace got these achievements:
Honors & Awards	1 All-Star Game