Michael Cooper

Michael Cooper

Cooper at Camp Lemonnier in 2023
Personal information
Born	(1956-04-15) April 15, 1956 (age 68) 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	Pasadena CC (1974–1976) New Mexico (1976–1978)
NBA draft	1978: 3rd round, 60th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career	1978–1991
Position	Shooting guard
Number	21
Coaching career	1994–present
Career history
As player:
1978–1990	Los Angeles Lakers
1990–1991	Virtus Roma
As coach:
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.
Career highlights and awards
As player: 5× NBA champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1987) 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1981, 1983, 1986) Italian All-Star Game MVP (1991) First-team All-American – USBWA (1978) 2× First-team All-WAC (1977, 1978) As coach: 2× WNBA champion (2001, 2002) WNBA Coach of the Year (2000) NBA D–League champion (2006)
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 at Basketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame

Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association, winning five NBA championships with the Lakers during their Showtime era. Regarded as one of the greatest defensive players of his generation, he was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. In 2024, it was announced that Cooper would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.^[1] Following his Hall of Fame announcement, it was announced on August 15, 2024 that Cooper would have his No. 21 retired by the Lakers on January 13, 2025.^[2]

As a coach, Cooper led the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to two championships and the Albuquerque Thunderbirds to one NBA G League title. He has also coached in the NBA, WNBA, and the NBA Development League.^[3] He was the head coach for boys basketball at Culver City High School in California from 2021 to 2023. He then took an assistant coaching job for men's basketball at California State University, Los Angeles.