The former Pasadena High and Pasadena City College star was the 1986-87 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and was named to eight NBA All-Defensive Teams (a first-team selection five times).
Michael Cooper, the defensive backbone of the “Showtime” Lakers teams of the 1980s, has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, according to a pair of social media posts from two of his former teammates. Former Lakers defensive stalwart Michael Cooper will enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year – information that Lakers great Magic Johnson revealed about his former “Showtime” teammate via social media on Thursday evening.
Lakers great James Worthy, another former teammate of Cooper’s, also posted a congratulatory post about Cooper’s expected induction into the Hall of Fame. The Los Angeles native, a former Pasadena High and Pasadena City College star, was a third-round draft pick of the Lakers out of the University of New Mexico. He spent his entire 12-year NBA career with the Lakers.
Johnson continued: “Coop is the greatest defensive player I’ve ever seen in the NBA – and I would know because I went up against him every single day in practice! His play on the offensive end was strong too. He was an excellent point guard and 3-point shooting threat.“He was mentally and physically tough, which made him such an amazing teammate.
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