Rafer Alston vs. Michael Cooper Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Cooper and Rafer Alston, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

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.

Rafer Alston played 11 years in the NBA, 1 less than Michael Cooper, who played 12. Rafer Alston had the first of his seasons in 1999-00, while Michael Cooper had his rookie season in 1978-79. 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.

Their Careers
Player	Total Seasons	Playoffs Played	NBA Years
Rafer Alston	11	6	1999-00 to 2009-10
Michael Cooper	12	11	1978-79 to 1989-90

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12


Rookie Season
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	1999-00	1978-79
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 1st Rd	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		%
Rafer Alston	27	13.4	2.2	0.2	0.7	0.9	2.6	0.4	0.0	1.1	1.1	1.0	3.5	.284	0.1	0.5	.214	0.1	0.1	.750
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	-

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	4	4.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.8	.000	0.0	0.3	.000	0.0	0.5	.000
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 2
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2000-01	1979-80
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Bucks Lost East Conf 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		%
Rafer Alston	37	7.8	2.1	0.1	0.7	0.8	1.8	0.4	0.0	0.5	0.7	0.8	2.3	.357	0.2	0.8	.267	0.2	0.4	.692
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	5	1.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2	.000	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
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


Season 3
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2001-02	1980-81
Team	Milwaukee Bucks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

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Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	50	12.0	3.5	0.2	1.2	1.4	2.9	0.6	0.0	0.8	0.8	1.3	3.8	.346	0.5	1.4	.380	0.4	0.6	.621
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 4
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2002-03	1981-82
Team	Toronto Raptors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
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		%
Rafer Alston	47	20.9	7.8	0.4	1.8	2.3	4.1	0.8	0.3	1.8	2.6	3.0	7.1	.415	1.1	2.8	.392	0.8	1.1	.685
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 5
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2003-04	1982-83
Team	Miami Heat	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Heat Lost East Conf Semis	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		%
Rafer Alston	82	31.5	10.2	0.3	2.4	2.8	4.5	1.4	0.2	1.6	2.6	3.5	9.3	.376	2.0	5.3	.371	1.3	1.6	.769
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	13	22.6	7.0	0.3	1.9	2.2	1.7	0.4	0.1	0.8	1.7	2.2	7.0	.319	0.9	4.0	.231	1.6	1.9	.840
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


Season 6
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2004-05	1983-84
Team	Toronto Raptors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Rafer Alston	80	34.0	14.2	0.5	3.0	3.5	6.4	1.5	0.1	2.1	2.7	5.0	12.2	.414	1.7	4.9	.357	2.4	3.2	.740
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 7
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2005-06	1984-85
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
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		%
Rafer Alston	63	38.6	12.1	0.6	3.5	4.0	6.7	1.6	0.2	2.5	3.1	4.4	11.7	.379	1.6	5.0	.327	1.6	2.3	.692
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 8
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2006-07	1985-86
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive Second Team
Playoffs	Rockets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Lakers Lost West Conf 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		%
Rafer Alston	82	37.1	13.3	0.4	3.1	3.4	5.4	1.6	0.1	2.1	2.4	4.7	12.4	.375	2.3	6.5	.363	1.6	2.2	.734
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	7	44.1	10.9	0.9	6.0	6.9	5.0	1.9	0.4	2.4	3.3	3.6	10.6	.338	2.3	7.1	.320	1.4	1.9	.769
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


Season 9
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2007-08	1986-87
Team	Houston Rockets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Honors & Awards	-	Defensive Player of the Year
Playoffs	Rockets 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		%
Rafer Alston	74	34.1	13.1	0.4	3.1	3.5	5.3	1.3	0.2	2.2	1.9	4.9	12.5	.394	1.9	5.5	.351	1.3	1.9	.715
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	4	31.5	14.3	0.5	1.0	1.5	4.5	1.0	0.0	1.5	1.8	5.3	12.0	.438	2.8	6.3	.440	1.0	1.3	.800
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


Season 10
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2008-09	1987-88
Team	Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Defensive First Team
Playoffs	Magic 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		%
Rafer Alston	77	31.8	11.7	0.4	2.5	2.9	5.3	1.4	0.1	1.8	1.8	4.1	10.6	.385	1.5	4.3	.338	2.0	2.7	.750
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	23	32.2	12.2	0.1	2.3	2.4	4.1	1.4	0.2	1.7	2.3	4.6	12.1	.380	1.6	4.9	.319	1.4	1.9	.750
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


Season 11
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	2009-10	1988-89
Team	New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	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		%
Rafer Alston	52	27.3	8.2	0.3	2.2	2.5	3.4	1.0	0.2	1.8	2.0	3.0	8.6	.348	1.1	3.2	.345	1.1	1.6	.728
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

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
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


Season 12
	Rafer Alston	Michael Cooper
Season	-	1989-90
Team	-	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Cooper	80	23.1	6.4	0.7	2.1	2.8	2.7	0.8	0.5	1.1	2.6	2.4	6.2	.387	0.6	2.0	.318	1.0	1.2	.883

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Rafer Alston	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Cooper	9	19.2	2.6	1.2	1.4	2.7	2.8	0.8	0.4	0.8	2.3	1.1	3.9	.286	0.3	1.3	.250	0.0	0.0	-

Rafer Alston vs. Michael Cooper Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Michael Cooper and Rafer Alston, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Their Careers

Comparison Season by Season

Rookie Season

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12