_(cropped).jpg) Cooper atCamp Lemonnier in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1956-04-15)April 15, 1956 (age 69) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Pasadena (Pasadena, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1978: 3rd round, 60th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Playing career | 1978–1991 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 21 |
| Coaching career | 1994–present |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1978–1990 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1990–1991 | Virtus Roma |
Coaching | |
| 1994–1996 | Los Angeles Lakers (assistant) |
| 1999 | Los Angeles Sparks (assistant) |
| 2000–2004 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2004 | Denver Nuggets (assistant) |
| 2004–2005 | Denver Nuggets (interim) |
| 2005–2007 | Albuquerque Thunderbirds |
| 2007–2009 | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2009–2013 | USC (women) |
| 2014–2017 | Atlanta Dream |
| 2019–2021 | Chadwick School |
| 2021–2023 | Culver City High School |
| 2023 | Cal State L.A. (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
As player:
As coach: | |
| Career statistics | |
| Points | 7,729 (8.9 ppg) |
| Assists | 3,666 (4.2 apg) |
| Steals | 1,033 (1.2 spg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956), nicknamed "Coop", is an Americanbasketball coach and former player. He played for theLos Angeles Lakers during his entire career in theNational Basketball Association (NBA), winning fiveNBA championships with the Lakers during theirShowtime era. He was an eight-time selection to theNBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named theNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. Cooper was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.[1] The Lakersretired hisNo. 21 jersey in 2025.[2]
As a coach, Cooper led theLos Angeles Sparks of theWomen's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to two championships and theAlbuquerque Thunderbirds to oneNBA G League title. He has also coached in the NBA, WNBA, and theNBA Development League.[3] He was the head coach for boys basketball atCulver City High School in California from 2021 to 2023. He then took an assistant coaching job for men's basketball atCalifornia State University, Los Angeles.
Michael Jerome Cooper was born on April 15, 1956, inLos Angeles, California. When he was three years old, he cut one of his knees severely, requiring 100 stitches to close. At the time the doctor said that he would never be able to walk.[4] Cooper attendedPasadena High School, where he excelled inbasketball. He graduated in 1974.
Cooper attendedPasadena City College before transferring to theUniversity of New Mexico. He played for theNew Mexico Lobos for two seasons, 1976–78,[5] and was named first team All-Western Athletic Conference. In Cooper's senior season, he was named a first-teamAll-American by theUnited States Basketball Writers Association.[6][7] The Lobos won the WAC title, with Cooper averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
Selected by theLos Angeles Lakers in the third round of the1978 NBA draft with the 60th overall pick,[8] Cooper became an integral part of theirShowtime teams of the 1980s with his defensive skills. In a twelve-year career, he was named to theNBA All Defensive Team eight times, including five first-team selections. Until 2024, Cooper andNorm Van Lier had the most defensive selections of any player to not be inducted into theNaismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named a finalist in 2022 and was selected for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2024.[9] He won theNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1987. He, along withKareem Abdul-Jabbar andMagic Johnson, was a member of five Lakers championship teams in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.[10]
At 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), 174 lb (77 kg), the rail-thin Cooper known for his knee-high socks, played shooting guard, small forward, and point guard, although his defensive assignment was usually the other team's best shooter at the 2 or 3 position.Larry Bird has said that Cooper was the best defender he faced.[11] For his career, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game. A popular player among Lakers fans, home crowds were known to chant, "Coooooooop" whenever he controlled the ball, and the Lakers sometimes ran analley-oop play for him that was dubbed the "Coop-a-loop."[12] Leaving the team after the 1989–90 season, he was ranked among the club's all-time top 10 in three-point field goals (428), games played (873), total minutes played (23,635), steals (1033), blocked shots (523), assists (3,666), defensive rebounds (2,028), offensive rebounds (741), and free throw percentage (.833).
Cooper then played for the 1990–91 season in Italy forPallacanestro Virtus Roma in the ItalianSerie A, averaging 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.8 assists, and 0.3 blocks per game.
Following Cooper's playing career, he served as Special Assistant to Lakers' general managerJerry West for three years before joining the Lakers' coaching staff in March 1994 underMagic Johnson, then withDel Harris from 1994 to 1996.
Cooper became an assistant coach of the WNBA'sLos Angeles Sparks in 1999, and helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, with a record of 20–12.
He was named the Sparks' head coach in November 1999, and the Sparks' record quickly improved, as they finished 28–4 in their 2000 campaign. Cooper was named theWNBA Coach of the Year for his efforts. The Sparks followed with consecutiveWNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002, but were denied a third straight WNBA title by losing to theDetroit Shock in 2003.
After theSacramento Monarchs ended the Sparks' run in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Playoffs, Cooper took a job as an assistant coach underJeff Bzdelik with theDenver Nuggets. After 24 games, Bzedlik was fired, and Cooper was named the Nuggets' interim head coach.[13] He remained interim head coach untilGeorge Karl was brought in to coach the team about a month later and served as a scout for the Nuggets the remainder of the season.
Cooper was the head coach of theAlbuquerque Thunderbirds for three years (2005–07). In 2007, he left the Thunderbirds after coaching them to the National Basketball Association D-League Championship in 2006.
Cooper then returned to coaching in the WNBA as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.
In May 2009, Cooper was named head coach of the University of Southern California's Women of Troy Basketball Team.[14] He quit in 2013 after USC went 11–20 and finished seventh in thePac-12 Conference with a 7–11 record. He was 72–57 overall at USC.[15]
In November 2013, Cooper was hired by theAtlanta Dream as head coach.[16] His contract was not renewed by Atlanta after an 11–22 season in 2017.
In 2018, Cooper signed on to coach 3's Company of theBig3 League.
In 2019, Cooper was named the boys varsity coach atChadwick School in thePalos Verdes Peninsula ofLos Angeles County.[17]
Cooper became the head coach atCulver City High School on September 8, 2021.[18]
Cooper became an assistant head coach of men's basketball atCal State, LA in 2023.[19]
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 2004–05 | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 | (interim) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 | — | — | — | — | |||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 2000 | 32 | 28 | 4 | .875 | 1st in Western | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 | Lost in Conference Finals |
| Los Angeles | 2001 | 32 | 28 | 4 | .875 | 1st in Western | 7 | 6 | 1 | .857 | WonWNBA Championship |
| Los Angeles | 2002 | 32 | 25 | 7 | .781 | 1st in Western | 6 | 6 | 0 | 1.000 | WonWNBA Championship |
| Los Angeles | 2003 | 34 | 24 | 10 | .706 | 1st in Western | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 | LostWNBA Finals |
| Los Angeles | 2004 | 20 | 14 | 6 | .700 | (resigned) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Los Angeles | 2007 | 34 | 10 | 24 | .294 | 6th in Western | — | — | — | — | — |
| Los Angeles | 2008 | 34 | 20 | 14 | .588 | 3rd in Western | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | Lost in Conference Finals |
| Los Angeles | 2009 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 3rd in Western | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | Lost in Conference Finals |
| Atlanta | 2014 | 34 | 19 | 15 | .559 | 1st in Eastern | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Lost First Round |
| Atlanta | 2015 | 34 | 15 | 19 | .441 | 5th in Eastern | — | — | — | — | — |
| Atlanta | 2016 | 34 | 17 | 17 | .500 | 4th in Eastern | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost Second Round |
| Atlanta | 2017 | 34 | 12 | 22 | .353 | 5th in Eastern | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 388 | 230 | 158 | .593 | 43 | 27 | 16 | .628 | |||
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | 2005–06 | 48 | 26 | 22 | .542 | 2nd | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Won D-League Championship |
| Albuquerque | 2006–07 | 50 | 24 | 26 | .480 | 3rd in Western | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost in First Round |
| Career | 98 | 50 | 48 | .510 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .667 | |||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC Trojans(Pacific-10/Pac-12 Conference)(2009–2013) | |||||||||
| 2009–10 | USC | 19–12 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2010–11 | USC | 24–13 | 10–8 | T–4th | WNIT Runner-Up | ||||
| 2011–12 | USC | 18–12 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2012–13 | USC | 11–20 | 7–11 | 7th | |||||
| USC: | 72–57 | 41–31 | |||||||
| Total: | 72–57 | ||||||||
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–79 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | 2.3 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | |||
| 1979–80† | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 24.1 | .524 | .250 | .776 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 8.8 | |
| 1980–81 | L.A. Lakers | 81 | 32.4 | .491 | .211 | .785 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 9.4 | |
| 1981–82† | L.A. Lakers | 76 | 14 | 28.9 | .517 | .118 | .813 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 11.9 |
| 1982–83 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 3 | 26.2 | .535 | .238 | .785 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 7.8 |
| 1983–84 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 9 | 29.1 | .497 | .314 | .838 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 9.0 |
| 1984–85† | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 20 | 26.7 | .465 | .285 | .865 | 3.1 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 8.6 |
| 1985–86 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 15 | 27.7 | .452 | .387 | .865 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 9.2 |
| 1986–87† | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 2 | 27.5 | .438 | .385 | .851 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 10.5 |
| 1987–88† | L.A. Lakers | 61 | 8 | 29.4 | .392 | .320 | .858 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 8.7 |
| 1988–89 | L.A. Lakers | 80 | 13 | 24.3 | .431 | .381 | .871 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| 1989–90 | L.A. Lakers | 80 | 10 | 23.1 | .387 | .318 | .883 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 6.4 |
| Career | 873 | 94 | 27.1 | .469 | .340 | .833 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 8.9 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980† | L.A. Lakers | 16 | 29.0 | .407 | .000 | .861 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 9.1 | |
| 1981 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | 34.0 | .550 | .000 | .714 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 10.7 | |
| 1982† | L.A. Lakers | 14 | 27.4 | .565 | .500 | .735 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 11.9 | |
| 1983 | L.A. Lakers | 15 | 30.2 | .465 | .143 | .829 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 9.4 | |
| 1984 | L.A. Lakers | 21 | 34.4 | .461 | .333 | .806 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 11.3 | |
| 1985† | L.A. Lakers | 19 | 26.4 | .563 | .308 | .923 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 10.4 | |
| 1986 | L.A. Lakers | 14 | 30.1 | .470 | .463 | .818 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 9.7 | |
| 1987† | L.A. Lakers | 18 | 29.0 | .484 | .486 | .852 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 13.0 | |
| 1988† | L.A. Lakers | 24 | 24.5 | .412 | .403 | .741 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 6.4 | |
| 1989 | L.A. Lakers | 15 | 27.6 | .416 | .382 | .833 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 7.7 | |
| 1990 | L.A. Lakers | 9 | 19.2 | .286 | .250 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.6 | ||
| Career | 168 | 4 | 28.2 | .468 | .392 | .825 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 9.4 | |
In July 2014, Cooper was diagnosed with early-stage tongue cancer. He had surgery atWinship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta,[20] and was able to recuperate.
· Basketball Reference 
