Michael Cooper - Hall of Fame Basketball Player

Michael Cooper
(Born 1956)

Hall of Fame Induction: 2024

Card Shown: 2016-17 Panini
National Treasures

Position: SG
Height: 6’7″

Michael Cooper had a defensive intensity and lock-down abilities that didn’t always show up in the box score, but that helped propel the Lakers to five NBA championships in the 1980s. Cooper was an unselfish player who sacrificed his personal scoring totals and identified a role for himself on the Lakers that would make the whole team better. Michael typically guarded the top shooter on the opposing team. He also had the ability to make clutch shots, often three-pointers, in crunch time.

Awards and Honors

In college, Michael starred at Pasadena City College before transferring to the University of New Mexico. At New Mexico, he was an All-American and helped lead the Lobos to a Western Athletic Conference championship.
Cooper won five NBA Championships, playing alongside legendary Lakers such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and Jamaal Wilkes. The Lakers dynasty of the 1980s, with Cooper, won titles in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
Known for his defense, Michael was selected to an NBA All-Defensive team for eight consecutive years from 1980-81 through 1987-88. He was a five-time First Team selection and a three-time Second Team selection.
Cooper was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year following the 1986-87 season. He was the first, and remains the only player, to win the award as a non-starter. Michael came off the bench to energize the Lakers and to provide lock-down defense.

Points of Interest

Larry Bird, a long-time Laker rival and one of the greatest players in NBA history, called Cooper the best defender that he ever played against. Michael’s teammate Magic Johnson also identified Cooper as the greatest defensive player that he has ever seen in the NBA. Magic should know. He played against Cooper in practice every day.
Michael was the 60th overall pick in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft. This was great scouting by the Lakers, as only two players selected before Cooper went on to have Hall of Fame careers. Those players were Bird (taken 6th by the Boston Celtics) and Maurice Cheeks (taken 36th by the Philadelphia 76ers).
Cooper is often remembered for his knee-high socks and the alley-oop passes from Magic that became known as the “Coop-a-loop”.
Michael averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.2 assists during his career. Those statistics don’t begin to tell the story of the defensive impact and other intangibles that Cooper brought to the Lakers.
After his NBA career ended, Cooper continued working in basketball as a coach. He was an assistant coach for the Lakers and Denver Nuggets, won a G League title with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, coached the women’s team at USC, and coached in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Atlanta Dream. He led the Sparks, and superstar Lisa Leslie, to consecutive WNBA championships in 2001 and 2002.

Statistics

Michael Cooper Statistics
provided by Basketball-Reference.com

Personal Autograph Interaction

At the 2024 Hall of Fame Induction weekend, we first ran into Michael Cooper in the hallway. He gave me a “high-five” that was so high that I couldn’t reach it :). Later, he signed a card for each of us and then another card for each of us at the official Hall of Fame autograph session. As a kid growing up in Southern California in the 1980s, the Showtime Lakers were my team. It was fun to meet one of the key members of those championship teams that I had watched on tv many years ago.

Thank you, Michael!