Michael Cooper vs. Earl Cureton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Earl Cureton 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.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season / Games against each other

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 Earl Cureton both played 12 years in the NBA. Michael Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Earl Cureton had his rookie season in 1980-81. 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
Michael Cooper	12	11	1978-79 to 1989-90
Earl Cureton	12	7	1980-81 to 1996-97

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


Rookie Season
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1978-79	1980-81
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	76ers Lost East 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		%
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	-
Earl Cureton	52	10.2	4.2	1.0	2.0	3.0	0.5	0.4	0.4	0.6	1.3	1.8	3.9	.454	0.0	0.0	.000	0.6	1.2	.516

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Michael Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Earl Cureton	9	4.0	1.3	0.1	0.9	1.0	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.3	0.7	2.0	.333	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.2	.000


Season 2
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1979-80	1981-82
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	NBA Champion	76ers 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	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
Earl Cureton	66	14.5	5.3	1.4	2.7	4.1	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.7	2.2	2.3	4.6	.487	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.4	.543

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
Earl Cureton	12	6.3	2.7	1.0	1.2	2.2	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.4	1.0	1.1	3.4	.317	0.0	0.1	.000	0.5	0.8	.667


Season 3
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1980-81	1982-83
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
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
Earl Cureton	73	13.5	3.4	1.2	2.5	3.7	0.6	0.5	0.3	1.0	2.0	1.5	3.5	.419	0.0	0.0	-	0.5	0.9	.493

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
Earl Cureton	5	5.0	0.4	0.0	1.0	1.0	0.2	0.4	0.0	0.6	1.0	0.2	0.8	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-


Season 4
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1981-82	1983-84
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Pistons Lost East 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		%
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
Earl Cureton	73	12.4	2.6	1.2	2.8	3.9	0.5	0.3	0.4	0.8	2.0	1.1	2.4	.458	0.0	0.0	.000	0.4	0.8	.525

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
Earl Cureton	5	18.6	6.4	2.8	3.8	6.6	0.4	0.4	0.2	1.0	1.8	3.0	6.2	.484	0.0	0.0	-	0.4	1.2	.333


Season 5
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1982-83	1984-85
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons Lost East 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	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
Earl Cureton	81	20.3	6.1	2.1	3.1	5.2	1.0	0.7	0.5	1.4	2.7	2.6	5.3	.484	0.0	0.0	.000	1.0	1.8	.569

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
Earl Cureton	9	14.8	4.1	1.1	3.4	4.6	0.4	1.0	0.2	0.4	2.2	1.8	3.8	.471	0.0	0.1	.000	0.6	1.0	.556


Season 6
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1983-84	1985-86
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	Pistons Lost East 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		%
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
Earl Cureton	80	25.2	8.6	2.5	3.8	6.3	1.7	0.7	0.7	1.9	3.0	3.6	7.1	.505	0.0	0.0	.000	1.5	2.6	.555

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
Earl Cureton	4	31.5	9.0	3.0	4.5	7.5	2.3	0.8	0.0	1.3	3.5	4.3	7.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.000	0.5	2.0	.250


Season 7
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1984-85	1986-87
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Earl Cureton	78	25.3	7.3	2.7	3.1	5.8	1.6	0.4	0.7	1.0	2.4	3.1	6.5	.476	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.9	.539

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
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 8
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1985-86	1987-88
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive Second Team	-
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Finals	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Earl Cureton	69	16.3	4.3	1.4	2.5	3.9	0.9	0.5	0.5	0.8	2.0	1.9	4.5	.429	0.0	0.0	.000	0.5	0.9	.524

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
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-


Season 9
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1986-87	1988-89
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Honors & Awards	Defensive Player of the Year	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

more >>

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
Earl Cureton	82	25.0	6.5	2.3	3.7	6.0	1.6	0.6	0.7	1.4	2.8	2.8	5.7	.501	0.0	0.0	.000	0.8	1.5	.537

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
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1989-90.


Season 10
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1987-88	1990-91
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Charlotte Hornets
Honors & Awards	All-Defensive First Team	-
Playoffs	NBA Champion	Did Not Play

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
Earl Cureton	9	17.7	1.9	0.7	3.3	4.0	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.7	1.8	0.9	2.7	.333	0.0	0.1	.000	0.1	0.3	.333

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
Earl Cureton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1991-92 and 1992-93.


Season 11
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1988-89	1993-94
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost NBA Finals	NBA Champion

more >>

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
Earl Cureton	2	15.0	2.0	2.0	4.0	6.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	2.0	1.0	4.0	.250	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	1.0	.000

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
Earl Cureton	10	10.0	1.8	0.6	2.3	2.9	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.3	2.0	0.8	1.0	.800	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.2	1.000

Note: Earl Cureton didn't play in 1994-95 and 1995-96.


Season 12
	Michael Cooper	Earl Cureton
Season	1989-90	1996-97
Team	Los Angeles Lakers	Toronto Raptors
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Lakers Lost West Conf Semis	Did Not Play

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
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
Earl Cureton	9	5.1	0.8	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.1	1.1	0.3	0.9	.375	0.0	0.0	-	0.1	0.3	.333

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

Michael Cooper vs. Earl Cureton Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Earl Cureton 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.

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