Michael Cooper vs. Vern Mikkelsen Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Vern Mikkelsen 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, 2 more than Vern Mikkelsen, who played 10. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Vern Mikkelsen had his rookie season in 1949-50. 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	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1978-79	1949-50
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
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	-
Vern Mikkelsen	68	-	11.6	-	-	-	1.8	-	-	-	3.3	4.2	10.6	.399	-	-	-	3.2	4.2	.752
Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vern Mikkelsen	12	-	13.0	-	-	-	1.5	-	-	-	4.3	4.6	12.4	.369	-	-	-	3.8	5.0	.767

Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1979-80	1950-51
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Lakers Lost West 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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	64	-	14.1	-	-	10.2	2.8	-	-	-	4.1	5.6	14.0	.402	-	-	-	2.9	4.3	.676
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
Vern Mikkelsen	7	-	15.6	-	-	9.6	2.4	-	-	-	5.0	5.6	13.7	.406	-	-	-	4.4	6.7	.660

Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1980-81	1951-52
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	66	35.5	15.3	-	-	10.3	2.7	-	-	-	4.3	5.5	13.1	.419	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.761
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
Vern Mikkelsen	13	38.1	13.3	-	-	8.5	1.5	-	-	-	5.1	4.6	10.7	.432	-	-	-	4.1	4.9	.828

Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1981-82	1952-53
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	70	35.2	15.0	-	-	9.3	2.1	-	-	-	4.1	5.4	12.4	.435	-	-	-	4.2	5.5	.752
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
Vern Mikkelsen	12	33.3	12.0	-	-	8.7	2.0	-	-	-	4.9	3.7	11.1	.331	-	-	-	4.7	5.5	.848

Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1982-83	1953-54
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	72	31.2	11.1	-	-	8.5	1.7	-	-	-	3.7	4.0	10.7	.374	-	-	-	3.1	4.1	.742
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
Vern Mikkelsen	13	28.8	10.2	-	-	5.6	1.3	-	-	-	4.0	3.9	8.5	.459	-	-	-	2.4	2.8	.861

Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1983-84	1954-55
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Second Team
	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost West 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
Vern Mikkelsen	71	36.0	18.7	-	-	10.2	2.0	-	-	-	4.5	6.2	14.7	.422	-	-	-	6.3	8.4	.747
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
Vern Mikkelsen	7	29.9	13.7	-	-	11.1	1.9	-	-	-	5.1	4.3	12.1	.353	-	-	-	5.1	6.6	.783

Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1984-85	1955-56
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	NBA Champion	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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	72	29.2	13.4	-	-	8.4	2.4	-	-	-	4.4	4.4	11.4	.386	-	-	-	4.6	5.7	.804
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
Vern Mikkelsen	3	30.0	13.3	-	-	5.7	0.7	-	-	-	4.7	3.7	8.7	.423	-	-	-	6.0	6.7	.900

Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1985-86	1956-57
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West 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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	72	30.5	13.7	-	-	8.8	1.7	-	-	-	4.3	4.5	11.9	.377	-	-	-	4.8	5.9	.807
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
Vern Mikkelsen	5	32.4	17.6	-	-	8.6	3.4	-	-	-	5.8	6.6	16.6	.398	-	-	-	4.4	6.8	.647

Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1986-87	1957-58
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis Lakers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
	Defensive Player of the Year	-
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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	72	33.2	17.3	-	-	11.2	2.3	-	-	-	4.2	6.1	14.9	.410	-	-	-	5.1	6.5	.786
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
Vern Mikkelsen	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Vern Mikkelsen
Season	1987-88	1958-59
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Minneapolis 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	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
Vern Mikkelsen	72	29.7	13.8	-	-	7.9	2.2	-	-	-	3.4	4.9	12.6	.390	-	-	-	4.0	4.9	.806
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
Vern Mikkelsen	13	28.5	15.5	-	-	7.2	1.8	-	-	-	4.2	5.6	13.6	.412	-	-	-	4.3	5.6	.767