Wayne Cooper vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson 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 / 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.

Wayne Cooper played 14 years in the NBA, 1 more than Magic Johnson, who played 13. Wayne Cooper had the first of his seasons in 1978-79, while Magic Johnson had his rookie season in 1979-80. 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
Magic Johnson	13	13	1979-80 to 1995-96

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


Rookie Season
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1978-79	1979-80
Team	Golden State Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-Rookie First Team
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
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
Magic Johnson	77	36.3	18.0	2.2	5.6	7.7	7.3	2.4	0.5	4.0	2.8	6.5	12.3	.530	0.1	0.4	.226	4.9	6.0	.810

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	16	41.1	18.3	3.3	7.3	10.5	9.4	3.1	0.4	4.1	2.9	6.4	12.4	.518	0.1	0.5	.250	5.3	6.6	.802


Season 2
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1979-80	1980-81
Team	Golden State Warriors	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Steals Leader
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		%
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
Magic Johnson	37	37.1	21.6	2.7	5.9	8.6	8.6	3.4	0.7	3.9	2.7	8.4	15.9	.532	0.1	0.5	.176	4.6	6.1	.760

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	3	42.3	17.0	2.7	11.0	13.7	7.0	2.7	1.0	3.7	4.7	6.3	16.3	.388	0.0	0.0	-	4.3	6.7	.650


Season 3
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1980-81	1981-82
Team	Utah Jazz	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	All-NBA Second Team
	-	Steals Leader
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
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
Magic Johnson	78	38.3	18.6	3.2	6.4	9.6	9.5	2.7	0.4	3.7	2.9	7.1	13.3	.537	0.1	0.4	.207	4.2	5.6	.760

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	14	40.1	17.4	3.9	7.4	11.3	9.3	2.9	0.2	3.1	3.6	5.9	11.2	.529	0.0	0.3	.000	5.5	6.6	.828


Season 4
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1981-82	1982-83
Team	Dallas Mavericks	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
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		%
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
Magic Johnson	79	36.8	16.8	2.7	5.9	8.6	10.5	2.2	0.6	3.8	2.5	6.5	11.8	.548	0.0	0.3	.000	3.8	4.8	.800

Playoffs Stats
	G	Min	Pts	ORb	DRb	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	TO	PF	FGM / A		%	3PM / A		%	FTM / A		%
Wayne Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Magic Johnson	15	42.9	17.9	3.4	5.1	8.5	12.8	2.3	0.8	4.3	3.3	6.7	13.7	.485	0.0	0.7	.000	4.5	5.4	.840


Season 5
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1982-83	1983-84
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West 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		%
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
Magic Johnson	67	38.3	17.6	1.5	5.9	7.3	13.1	2.2	0.7	4.6	2.5	6.6	11.6	.565	0.1	0.4	.207	4.3	5.3	.810

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
Magic Johnson	21	39.9	18.2	1.2	5.4	6.6	13.5	2.0	1.0	3.8	3.4	7.2	13.0	.551	0.0	0.3	.000	3.8	4.8	.800


Season 6
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1983-84	1984-85
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers 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		%
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
Magic Johnson	77	36.1	18.3	1.2	5.0	6.2	12.6	1.5	0.3	4.0	2.0	6.5	11.7	.561	0.1	0.5	.189	5.1	6.0	.843

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
Magic Johnson	19	36.2	17.5	1.0	6.1	7.1	15.2	1.7	0.2	4.0	2.5	6.1	11.9	.513	0.1	0.4	.143	5.3	6.2	.847


Season 7
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1984-85	1985-86
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Finals	Lakers 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	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
Magic Johnson	72	35.8	18.8	1.2	4.7	5.9	12.6	1.6	0.2	3.8	1.8	6.7	12.8	.526	0.1	0.6	.233	5.3	6.0	.871

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
Magic Johnson	14	38.6	21.6	1.5	5.6	7.1	15.1	1.9	0.1	3.2	3.1	7.9	14.6	.537	0.0	0.8	.000	5.9	7.6	.766


Season 8
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1985-86	1986-87
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Finals MVP
	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	Assists Leader
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	NBA Champion

more >>

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
Magic Johnson	80	36.3	23.9	1.5	4.8	6.3	12.2	1.7	0.5	3.8	2.1	8.5	16.4	.522	0.1	0.5	.205	6.7	7.9	.848

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
Magic Johnson	18	37.0	21.8	1.6	6.2	7.7	12.2	1.7	0.4	2.8	2.1	8.1	15.1	.539	0.1	0.6	.200	5.4	6.6	.831


Season 9
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1986-87	1987-88
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	NBA Champion

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
Magic Johnson	72	36.6	19.6	1.2	5.0	6.2	11.9	1.6	0.2	3.7	2.0	6.8	13.8	.492	0.2	0.8	.196	5.8	6.8	.853

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
Magic Johnson	24	40.2	19.9	1.3	4.1	5.4	12.6	1.4	0.2	3.5	2.5	7.0	13.7	.514	0.3	0.6	.500	5.5	6.5	.852


Season 10
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1987-88	1988-89
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf Semis	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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
Magic Johnson	77	37.5	22.5	1.4	6.4	7.9	12.8	1.8	0.3	4.1	2.2	7.5	14.8	.509	0.8	2.4	.314	6.7	7.3	.911

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
Magic Johnson	14	37.0	18.4	1.1	4.9	5.9	11.8	1.9	0.2	3.8	2.1	6.1	12.4	.489	0.7	2.5	.286	5.6	6.1	.907


Season 11
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1988-89	1989-90
Team	Denver Nuggets	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	Season MVP
	-	All-NBA First Team
	-	All-Star Game
	-	All-Star Game NVP
Playoffs	Nuggets Lost West Conf 1st Rd	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		%
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
Magic Johnson	79	37.2	22.3	1.6	5.0	6.6	11.5	1.7	0.4	3.7	2.1	6.9	14.4	.480	1.3	3.5	.384	7.2	8.1	.890

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	-
Magic Johnson	9	41.8	25.2	1.3	5.0	6.3	12.8	1.2	0.1	4.0	3.1	8.4	17.2	.490	0.6	2.8	.200	7.8	8.8	.886


Season 12
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1989-90	1990-91
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards	-	All-NBA First Team
Honors & Awards	-	All-Star Game
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	Lakers Lost NBA Finals

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
Magic Johnson	79	37.1	19.4	1.3	5.6	7.0	12.5	1.3	0.2	4.0	1.9	5.9	12.4	.477	1.0	3.2	.320	6.6	7.3	.906

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
Magic Johnson	19	43.3	21.8	1.2	6.9	8.1	12.6	1.2	0.0	4.1	2.3	6.2	14.1	.440	1.1	3.7	.296	8.3	9.4	.882

Note: Magic Johnson didn't play in 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95.


Season 13
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1990-91	1995-96
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	Los Angeles Lakers
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost West Conf Finals	Lakers Lost West Conf 1st Rd

more >>

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
Magic Johnson	32	29.9	14.6	1.3	4.5	5.7	6.9	0.8	0.4	3.2	1.5	4.3	9.2	.466	0.7	1.8	.379	5.4	6.3	.856

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	-
Magic Johnson	4	33.8	15.3	2.0	6.5	8.5	6.5	0.0	0.0	3.0	0.8	3.8	9.8	.385	0.8	2.3	.333	7.0	8.3	.848


Season 14
	Wayne Cooper	Magic Johnson
Season	1991-92	-
Team	Portland Trail Blazers	-
Honors & Awards
Playoffs	Trail Blazers Lost NBA Finals	-

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
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

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	-
Magic Johnson	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Wayne Cooper vs. Magic Johnson Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Magic Johnson 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