Wayne Cooper vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Wayne 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

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.

Wayne Cooper played 14 years in the NBA, 1 less than James Harden, who played 15. Wayne Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while James Harden had his rookie season in 2009-10. 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
Wayne Cooper	14	10	1978-79 to 1991-92
James Harden	15	15	2009-10 to 2023-24

Comparison Season by Season
Jump to season: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15


Rookie Season
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1978-79	2009-10
Team	Golden State Warriors	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	All-Rookie Second Team
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder 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		%
Wayne Cooper	65	12.2	4.6	1.4	2.9	4.3	0.3	0.1	0.7	0.8	1.8	2.0	4.5	.437	-	-	-	0.6	0.9	.672
James Harden	76	22.9	9.9	0.6	2.6	3.2	1.8	1.1	0.3	1.4	2.6	3.1	7.6	.403	1.2	3.3	.375	2.6	3.2	.808

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	20.0	7.7	0.2	2.3	2.5	1.8	1.0	0.2	0.5	2.3	2.0	5.2	.387	1.0	2.7	.375	2.7	3.2	.842


Season 2
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1979-80	2010-11
Team	Golden State Warriors	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder 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		%
Wayne Cooper	79	22.5	11.0	2.6	3.9	6.4	0.5	0.3	1.0	1.8	3.1	4.6	9.5	.489	0.0	0.1	.250	1.7	2.3	.751
James Harden	82	26.7	12.2	0.5	2.6	3.1	2.1	1.1	0.3	1.3	2.5	3.6	8.3	.436	1.4	4.0	.349	3.5	4.2	.843

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	17	31.6	13.0	0.6	4.8	5.4	3.6	1.2	0.8	1.6	2.8	3.9	8.2	.475	1.4	4.5	.303	3.9	4.7	.825


Season 3
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1980-81	2011-12
Team	Utah Jazz	Oklahoma City Thunder
Honors & Awards	-	Sixth Man of the Year
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Thunder 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		%
Wayne Cooper	71	20.0	6.9	2.3	3.9	6.2	0.7	0.3	0.7	1.1	3.1	3.0	6.6	.452	0.0	0.0	.333	0.9	1.3	.689
James Harden	62	31.4	16.8	0.5	3.6	4.1	3.7	1.0	0.2	2.2	2.4	5.0	10.1	.491	1.8	4.7	.390	5.0	6.0	.846

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	20	31.5	16.3	0.7	4.5	5.1	3.4	1.6	0.1	2.1	3.4	4.7	10.7	.435	1.6	3.9	.410	5.4	6.3	.857


Season 4
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1981-82	2012-13
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA Third Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Did Not Play	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	76	23.9	9.0	2.6	4.6	7.2	1.5	0.5	1.4	1.2	3.8	3.7	8.8	.420	0.0	0.1	.125	1.6	2.1	.744
James Harden	78	38.3	25.9	0.8	4.1	4.9	5.8	1.8	0.5	3.8	2.3	7.5	17.1	.438	2.3	6.2	.368	8.6	10.2	.851

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	40.5	26.3	0.8	5.8	6.7	4.5	2.0	1.0	4.5	3.0	7.5	19.2	.391	2.5	7.3	.341	8.8	11.0	.803


Season 5
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1982-83	2013-14
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	80	26.2	9.7	2.7	5.0	7.6	1.5	0.3	1.7	2.0	4.0	4.0	9.0	.443	0.0	0.1	.000	1.7	2.5	.685
James Harden	73	38.0	25.4	0.8	3.9	4.7	6.1	1.6	0.4	3.6	2.4	7.5	16.5	.456	2.4	6.6	.366	7.9	9.1	.866

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	7	32.6	12.4	3.4	4.6	8.0	1.3	0.3	1.1	2.4	4.7	5.1	10.6	.486	0.0	0.0	-	2.1	2.4	.882
James Harden	6	43.8	26.8	0.8	3.8	4.7	5.8	2.0	0.2	3.5	3.5	8.3	22.2	.376	2.7	9.0	.296	7.5	8.3	.900


Season 6
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1983-84	2014-15
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	81	20.5	9.8	2.2	3.7	5.9	0.9	0.3	1.3	1.4	3.0	3.8	8.2	.459	0.0	0.1	.000	2.3	2.8	.804
James Harden	81	36.8	27.4	0.9	4.7	5.7	7.0	1.9	0.7	4.0	2.6	8.0	18.1	.440	2.6	6.9	.375	8.8	10.2	.868

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	5	20.8	4.8	2.2	1.8	4.0	0.8	0.2	0.8	1.0	2.8	2.0	5.4	.370	0.0	0.0	-	0.8	1.6	.500
James Harden	17	37.4	27.2	0.7	5.0	5.7	7.5	1.6	0.4	4.5	2.9	7.6	17.3	.439	2.4	6.3	.383	9.6	10.5	.916


Season 7
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1984-85	2015-16
Team	Denver Nuggets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	80	25.4	12.1	2.9	5.0	7.9	1.1	0.4	2.5	1.9	3.8	5.1	10.7	.472	0.0	0.0	.000	2.0	2.9	.685
James Harden	82	38.1	29.0	0.8	5.3	6.1	7.5	1.7	0.6	4.6	2.8	8.7	19.7	.439	2.9	8.0	.359	8.8	10.2	.860

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	15	21.4	10.9	2.3	3.9	6.2	1.3	0.5	2.4	1.3	3.5	4.5	9.5	.469	0.0	0.0	-	2.0	2.7	.750
James Harden	5	38.6	26.6	1.4	3.8	5.2	7.6	2.4	0.2	5.2	2.6	8.2	20.0	.410	2.6	8.4	.310	7.6	9.0	.844


Season 8
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1985-86	2016-17
Team	Denver Nuggets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	78	27.1	13.1	2.4	5.4	7.8	1.0	0.5	2.9	1.5	4.0	5.4	11.6	.466	0.0	0.1	.429	2.2	2.8	.795
James Harden	81	36.4	29.1	1.2	7.0	8.1	11.2	1.5	0.5	5.7	2.7	8.3	18.9	.440	3.2	9.3	.347	9.2	10.9	.847

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	8	19.3	7.9	1.4	3.6	5.0	0.9	0.3	0.6	1.4	3.9	3.0	7.0	.429	0.0	0.1	.000	1.9	2.8	.682
James Harden	11	37.0	28.5	0.6	4.8	5.5	8.5	1.9	0.5	5.4	3.9	8.2	19.8	.413	2.9	10.5	.278	9.2	10.5	.878


Season 9
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1986-87	2017-18
Team	Denver Nuggets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets Lost West Conf Finals

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	69	22.6	8.0	2.3	4.5	6.9	1.0	0.2	1.5	1.1	3.7	3.4	7.6	.448	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.6	.725
James Harden	72	35.4	30.4	0.6	4.8	5.4	8.8	1.8	0.7	4.4	2.3	9.0	20.1	.449	3.7	10.0	.367	8.7	10.1	.858

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	3	13.7	4.0	2.0	3.7	5.7	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.3	3.0	1.7	4.0	.417	0.0	0.0	-	0.7	0.7	1.000
James Harden	17	36.5	28.6	0.8	4.4	5.2	6.8	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.7	9.3	22.6	.410	3.1	10.2	.299	6.9	7.8	.887


Season 10
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1987-88	2018-19
Team	Denver Nuggets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	45	19.2	6.4	2.2	3.8	6.0	0.7	0.3	2.1	1.3	3.2	2.6	6.0	.437	0.0	0.0	.000	1.1	1.5	.746
James Harden	78	36.8	36.1	0.8	5.8	6.6	7.5	2.0	0.7	5.0	3.1	10.8	24.5	.442	4.8	13.2	.368	9.7	11.0	.879

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	9	10.7	2.0	1.8	1.9	3.7	0.7	0.3	0.9	0.4	2.1	0.9	2.6	.348	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.2	1.000
James Harden	11	38.5	31.6	0.8	6.0	6.8	6.6	2.2	0.9	4.6	3.7	9.9	24.0	.413	4.4	12.5	.350	7.5	8.9	.837


Season 11
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1988-89	2019-20
Team	Denver Nuggets	Houston Rockets
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Scoring Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	Rockets 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		%
Wayne Cooper	79	23.6	6.6	2.7	5.2	7.8	1.0	0.5	2.7	0.9	3.8	2.8	5.6	.495	0.0	0.1	.250	1.0	1.3	.745
James Harden	68	36.5	34.3	1.0	5.5	6.6	7.5	1.8	0.9	4.5	3.3	9.9	22.3	.444	4.4	12.4	.355	10.2	11.8	.865

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	3	14.7	4.0	1.3	3.0	4.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	0.0	3.3	2.0	4.0	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
James Harden	12	37.3	29.6	1.0	4.6	5.6	7.7	1.5	0.8	3.8	3.6	9.1	19.0	.478	3.3	9.8	.333	8.2	9.7	.845


Season 12
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1989-90	2020-21
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	Nets Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	79	14.9	3.8	1.5	2.8	4.3	0.6	0.2	1.2	0.5	2.7	1.7	3.8	.454	0.0	0.0	.000	0.3	0.5	.641
James Harden	44	36.6	24.6	0.8	7.1	7.9	10.8	1.2	0.8	4.0	2.3	7.8	16.7	.466	2.8	7.6	.362	6.3	7.3	.861

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	18	13.8	2.7	1.4	2.6	3.9	0.3	0.3	1.6	0.3	2.2	1.1	2.6	.404	0.0	0.0	-	0.6	1.1	.526
James Harden	9	35.8	20.2	0.8	5.6	6.3	8.6	1.7	0.7	2.9	2.6	5.7	12.0	.472	2.7	7.3	.364	6.2	6.9	.903


Season 13
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1990-91	2021-22
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	76ers 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		%
Wayne Cooper	67	11.1	2.2	0.8	2.0	2.8	0.3	0.1	0.9	0.3	1.8	0.9	2.2	.393	0.0	0.0	.000	0.5	0.6	.786
James Harden	65	37.2	22.0	0.8	6.8	7.7	10.3	1.3	0.6	4.4	2.4	6.3	15.3	.410	2.3	6.9	.330	7.2	8.2	.877

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	3	4.3	0.7	0.3	1.3	1.7	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7	0.3	0.7	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
James Harden	12	39.9	18.6	0.9	4.8	5.7	8.6	0.8	0.7	4.2	2.4	5.3	13.2	.405	2.3	6.3	.368	5.6	6.3	.893


Season 14
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	1991-92	2022-23
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Philadelphia 76ers
Honors & Awards	-	Assists Leader
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	76ers Lost East Conf Semis

more >>

Regular Season Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	35	9.8	2.2	1.1	1.8	2.9	0.6	0.1	0.8	0.4	1.6	1.0	2.3	.427	0.0	0.0	-	0.2	0.3	.636
James Harden	58	36.8	21.0	0.7	5.4	6.1	10.7	1.2	0.5	3.4	1.9	6.4	14.5	.441	2.8	7.2	.385	5.4	6.2	.867

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	3	9.0	1.3	0.3	2.3	2.7	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.3	1.3	0.7	1.3	.500	0.0	0.0	-	0.0	0.0	-
James Harden	11	38.8	20.3	0.5	5.6	6.2	8.3	1.8	0.4	3.2	2.5	6.5	16.6	.393	2.8	7.5	.378	4.4	5.0	.873


Season 15
	Wayne Cooper	James Harden
Season	-	2023-24
Team	-	Los Angeles Clippers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	-	Clippers 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		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	72	34.3	16.6	0.5	4.7	5.1	8.5	1.1	0.8	2.6	1.8	4.9	11.4	.428	2.6	6.8	.381	4.2	4.8	.878

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
James Harden	6	40.3	21.2	0.5	4.0	4.5	8.0	1.0	1.0	2.3	2.2	6.7	14.8	.449	3.0	7.8	.383	4.8	5.3	.906

Wayne Cooper vs. James Harden Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of James Harden and Wayne 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

Season 13

Season 14

Season 15