This article is about the basketball player and coach. For other people with the same name, see Michael Cooper (disambiguation).
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–present
Culver City High School
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.com
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. 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]
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.[2] 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.
^"Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announces 13 inductees for Class of 2024". NBA.com. April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
^"Coach Bio". NBA.com/coachfile. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
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...
Barry MichaelCooper is a New York City-born American writer, producer and director, best known for his screenplays for the films New Jack City (1991)...
was founded in 2002 by MichaelCooper, son of John Cooper, the racing car maker and tuner responsible for the original Mini Cooper. In 2007, German automaker...
court's left side, with one defender to beat—the Lakers' top defender MichaelCooper. As he came inside of the 3-point line, he cupped the ball into his...
eventually sent Alberta's son, Michael, to live with Alberta's sister Pearl. According to Alberta's daughter, Jeanne, MichaelCooper did not learn that Alberta...
perimeter players have been honored: Moncrief, Alvin Robertson, MichaelCooper, Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Ron Artest, Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Smart...
Arkansas". uark.as.atlas-sys.com. ed. John MichaelCooper (New York: G. Schirmer, 2019) ed. John MichaelCooper (New York: G. Schirmer, 2020) World-premiere...
based on an original story and written by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry MichaelCooper, and directed by Mario Van Peebles in his feature film directorial debut...
Christie, musician Al Kooper, arranger Charles Calello, TV director MichaelCooper, composer Sandy Linzer and WABC disc jockey Bob Lewis. He formed further...
coaching change, when the Sparks hired former Los Angeles Lakers player MichaelCooper as head coach. During the ensuing regular season, the Sparks again posted...
By 1966, Michael Bruce on rhythm guitar joined the three and Neal Smith was added on drums in 1967. The five named the band "Alice Cooper", and Furnier...
Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy...
marketed under various names such as Mini Cooper, Mini Hatch, Mini Hardtop, Mini One, and Mini John Cooper Works, are a family of retro-styled three-door...
The original LP cover features a lenticular image by photographer MichaelCooper. Satanic Majesties initially received mixed reactions from critics and...
Milton William "Bill" Cooper (May 6, 1943 – November 5, 2001) was an American conspiracy theorist, radio broadcaster, and author known for his 1991 book...
Pollack in his directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Barry MichaelCooper, adapted from a story by Benny Medina. The film stars Duane Martin,...
Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator currently anchoring the CNN news broadcast show...
monster of Joe Dumars, Isiah Thomas, and Vinnie Johnson. Super-sub MichaelCooper would have to log more minutes than he was accustomed to, and rookie...
Global Information
