Tag: Michael Cooper

The one Lakers great Michael Cooper wishes could be at his jersey retirement

Michael Cooper will have his jersey retired by the Lakers in January, and he wishes that arguably the greatest Laker ever could be there.

In less than two months, former Los Angeles Lakers 3-and-D wing Michael Cooper will be officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after being voted in earlier this year. It will be an amazing honor for the 68-year-old Cooper, who won five NBA championships with the Lakers in the 1980s, and then launched a long and successful coaching career that included back-to-back titles with the Los Angeles Sparks.

He will also get his No. 21 jersey retired by the Lakers organization on Jan. 13 at Crypto.com Arena. Jersey retirements are often an occasion when other all-time greats for a franchise are in attendance, and there is one Lakers legend Cooper wishes could be on hand on Jan. 13.

Unfortunately, he cannot, because he tragically passed away four years ago, along with his daughter and seven others, in a helicopter crash.

On his “Showtime” podcast, Cooper said it would’ve been great if Kobe Bryant could’ve made it to his jersey retirement ceremony.

“Kobe would be another one that I wish could be there because it’s kind of like he’s not here, but it’s the year 2024,” Cooper said. “That’s one of his jersey numbers, 24 and 8. I just think that’s something synonymous with the Lakers that’s happening with the young man who I had the chance to, I worked this kid out and I told everybody, Jerry and them said ‘What you think, Coop?’ I said, ‘He got it.’ So Kobe would be one that I wish that was there, I forget about him.”

Cooper referred to a pre-draft workout in 1996 that the Lakers held, during which they decided to see what Bryant was made of. So they had Cooper, who had retired from the NBA six years prior but was still in great physical shape, guard Bryant as if the 17-year-old were Michael Jordan or Larry Bird.

Bryant passed that stiff test with flying colors, and then-executive Jerry West knew he had to have the Philadelphia-area native.

Weeks later, he traded starting center Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Bryant, who went at No. 13 in that year’s draft. The rest, as they say, was history.

Dodgers will celebrate Lakers legends with T-shirt giveaway this weekend

The Dodgers will pay tribute to multiple Lakers champions this weekend at Chavez Ravine.

This has been a fairly exciting season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. It has seen the team debut of two-way star Shohei Ohtani, arguably the best player in baseball, and they have been keeping pace with the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees in the race for Major League Baseball’s best record.

The Dodgers have always shown a strong affinity for the Los Angeles Lakers. This weekend, they will be paying tribute to a number of legends who wore the Purple and Gold.

On Saturday, when they face the Tampa Bay Rays, five members of the Showtime Lakers will be throwing out the first pitch. The Dodgers will also be giving away a T-shirt with depictions of the Showtime Lakers wearing Dodgers jerseys that night.

The following afternoon, they will wrap up their three-game series versus the Rays by giving away a T-shirt honoring late Lakers great Kobe Bryant.

Fans planning on going to either game should be aware that either T-shirt will only be given to the first 40,000 fans in attendance.

Michael Cooper says he would cut Jayson Tatum since he hates the Celtics

More than 30 years after retiring from the Lakers, Hall of Famer Michael Cooper still hates the Celtics.

There are very few rivalries in sports that truly rile people up on a massive scale, even those who would seem perfectly neutral. There are the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox, the Green Bay Packers against the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers-Celtics rivalry was at its best in the mid-1980s when the two teams met in the NBA Finals three times in a four-year span. Hall of Fame Lakers wing Michael Cooper was a central character back then, as he was tasked with guarding Celtics legend Larry Bird and did so as well as anyone.

On his “Showtime” podcast, Cooper was asked who he would start, bench and cut among Jayson Tatum, Scottie Pippen and James Worthy. He said he would start Pippen, the six-time NBA champion, and bench Worthy, his former Lakers teammate and fellow Hall of Famer.

That leaves Tatum, whom Cooper would bench. Cooper said he would do it because of his hatred for the Celtics, although he admitted Tatum is a very good player.

“I’m starting Scottie Pippen and I’m benching Worthy and I’m cutting Tatum… I’m hating on the Celtics. No, Tatum is a hell of a player, I’ve got to give him that. You know, that’s a tough three. All of them are good players.”

Team loyalties aside, it’s easy to see why one would feel the way Cooper did. Pippen was one of the greatest defensive players in basketball history who also scored a consistent 18-20 points a game and was one of the NBA’s first “point forwards.” Meanwhile, Worthy would often play above his standards in big games, especially in the NBA Finals against the Celtics and Detroit Pistons.

While Tatum is a bona fide star, he has a habit of underperforming on the big stage. When the Celtics won it all in June, he shot just 38.8% from the field in the championship series while Jaylen Brown took home the Finals MVP award.

Michael Cooper talks about the Lakers retiring his jersey

Michael Cooper talks about what a tremendous honor it will be for him and his family to have his jersey retired by the Lakers.

For years, some fans of the Los Angeles Lakers were calling for Michael Cooper to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Weeks ago, it finally happened, as he got the nod after decades of waiting, and he will officially get inducted about two months from now.

Cooper had played 12 seasons for the Lakers starting in the 1978-79 campaign, and during that time, he was arguably the NBA’s first-ever 3-and-D player. He was named to eight All-Defensive teams and helped Los Angeles win five NBA championships.

This coming season, the team will also retire his No. 21 jersey. While on the “Showtime” podcast, he discussed how much of an honor it will be for him.

“I’m 68 years old, had a wonderful NBA career, my after basketball career has been fabulous, but I’m experiencing something very fantastic,” said Cooper. “I’ve always played this game, and everybody knows that, for the love of the game. But some magnificent individual accolades have been bestowed upon me. First being named into the Hall of Fame, which would be October 12th and 13th and I thought the dream had ended right there.

“But the Lakers yesterday had bestowed upon me probably one of the most prestigious award any NBA player, any athlete, can get playing for an organization. And I’ve always said the Lakers are a great organization, I’m not saying it now because of what they’ve done for me. And what they’ve done is they’re going to retire my jersey on January 13th. If we weren’t on camera I would start crying, but I did my crying last night. I got a chance to talk about it like an adult. That there is the ultimate award, because what that means is that every time you walk into the arena where the Lakers play, that jersey is going to be up there with some of the best that’s ever played this game.

“You have Wilt Chamberlain, Magic [Johnson], Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Shaq (Shaquille O’Neal), Kobe [Bryant] twice just to name a few. And now the No. 21. And the thing I like about that is because we would all like to live forever but that’s not going to happen. But my kids, grandkids and my great great grandkids, any time they go to a Lakers event, they’ll see the No. 21 hanging up there with the insignia Cooper on it. That’s who they are and that’s where it all began. So like I said, it’s the year of me.

“I’m going to revel in it a little bit because I do appreciate the Lakers for that. Like I said, I just played for the love of the game and for heart and for winning championships. There was a point where I could have left, but loyalty means something, and yeah you can be a great player. But the first franchise you ever get to be with is where you play your heart and soul. I always tell people I never played in Crypto.com [Arena], but I left a lot of skin and a lot of blood, I left a piece of my hair stuck in a scaffold at the Forum and the greatest memories I ever had were playing this game at the Forum.”

A player needs to make the Hall of Fame in order to get his jersey retired by the Lakers. While Cooper never made an All-Star team, he was integral to those Showtime Lakers teams, and they likely wouldn’t have been as successful as they were without him.

On Jan. 13, 2025, when the Purple and Gold host the San Antonio Spurs, he will join some extremely select company on the wall of Crypto.com Arena.

Which other former Lakers players does Michael Cooper think belong in the Hall of Fame?

Do you think the former Lakers players Michael Cooper named deserve to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame?

Former Los Angeles Lakers swingman Michael Cooper just received the honor of a lifetime when he was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

It was a long time coming, as he retired from the NBA in 1990 after a 12-season career. During his career, he was an integral 3-and-D role player for the Showtime Lakers who helped them win five world championships. He was named to eight All-Defensive teams and won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the 1986-87 season.

As a result, Cooper will have his jersey retired by the franchise this coming season.

It begs the question of which other former Lakers players may deserve to get into the Hall of Fame as well.

Cooper named three he feels have earned that right while speaking to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on Scoop B Radio.

“I think Byron Scott, Norm Nixon should definitely be in there, hopefully they will be considered there in the future,” Cooper said. “Robert Horry, one of the players. You know what, I found out that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame isn’t about what you done on the court most of the time; it is, but it’s your contribution to the game. Giving back to the game in any form or fashion.”

Scott and Nixon were also important members of those 1980s Lakers squads. Nixon started alongside Magic Johnson in the backcourt for four seasons starting with the 1979-80 campaign, and he was then traded for the draft rights to Scott, who proved to be an ideal complement to Johnson at the shooting guard spot.

Horry, of course, made a living by hitting clutch and game-winning shots. He came to L.A. during the 1996-97 season and played for it until 2003, and he was best known for the buzzer-beating 3-pointer he hit in Game 4 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals against the Sacramento Kings.

It is an open debate whether role and complementary players belong in the Hall of Fame. But if they deserve to be eligible, a strong case could be made for Scott, Nixon and Horry based on their contributions to several Lakers teams that won it all.

Lakers will retire Michael Cooper’s jersey this coming season

Former Lakers 3-and-D wing and Hall of Famer Michael Cooper will finally receive the franchise’s highest individual honor.

The Los Angeles Lakers have plenty of retired jerseys on the wall of Crypto.com Arena, and some fans have argued that they should retire the jerseys of some additional players.

One such player is Michael Cooper. He was perhaps the NBA’s first-ever 3-and-D player, and he was an integral part of the Lakers’ Showtime dynasty in the 1980s. Cooper was a member of all five world championship Lakers teams during that era and played 12 seasons in all for the franchise.

He was recently voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and thus, the Lakers franchise has announced it will retire his No. 21 jersey during a Jan. 13 game versus the San Antonio Spurs.

In addition to being a 3-point shooting threat and a favorite alley-oop target of Magic Johnson, Cooper was an outstanding, relentless defender. He guarded stars who played multiple positions, from little Isiah Thomas to the 6-foot-9 Larry Bird, and he made eight All-Defensive teams while winning the Defensive Player of the Year award for the 1986-87 season.

Cooper has always been a lovable figure in the Lakers community, and now he will receive the highest honor possible from the storied franchise.

Michael Cooper blasts NBA MVP candidate, calls him slow and lazy

Michael Cooper feels that one of the NBA’s perennial MVP candidates has a couple of major flaws that are holding him back big-time.

Back in the 1980s, Michael Cooper was an integral part of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Showtime dynasty. He spent all 12 of his NBA seasons with them, and he helped them win five world championships during that time.

Cooper was known as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history, and he was arguably the league’s very first 3-and-D player. He was also known for being the type of player and man who was intensity-personified and would always give 100%, and he would get on his teammates to make sure they did the same.

While on his podcast “Showtime,” the Hall of Fame wing brought up Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. While he gave Doncic credit for his statistical production, he threw shade at the Slovenia native for being slow and “lazy” (h/t Lakers Nation).

“Luka [Dončić] gives you that triple-double almost about every night, but he’s too slow for me. If he wasn’t a scorer, I would cut him. I give him credit for that, but to me, he’s lazy. Doesn’t hustle back on defense.”

Cooper isn’t wrong in his assessment of Doncic. While Doncic should be praised for his career averages of 28.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists a game, he isn’t exactly an impactful defender, and he plays at a slow pace offensively.

This became evident to those who hadn’t noticed yet in the NBA Finals several weeks ago. Doncic consistently walks the ball upcourt and doesn’t create pace or fast-break opportunities, and it bogged down the Mavs’ offense. While they averaged 117.9 points a game in the regular season, which was seventh in the league, that figure fell hard to 99.2 points a game in the championship series as Dallas lost in five games to the Boston Celtics.

He has always appeared to have a pudgy physique — in fact, in one game this past season, a fan heckled him and told him to get on the treadmill.

If Cooper were coaching Doncic — he coached the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks to back-to-back titles and has had numerous other coaching gigs — there’s no doubt he would’ve confronted the All-Star about his flaws in an effort to make him an even greater player.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper on this year’s Celtics championship bona fides

It is not all that often you can get one of the Showtime era Los Angeles Lakers stars to say something nice about the Boston Celtics.

It is not all that often you can get one of the Showtime era Los Angeles Lakers stars to say something nice about the Boston Celtics (and can you blame them given the historic rivalry between the two storied ball clubs?), but it does sometimes happen.

And happen it did on a recent episode of Lakers legend Michael Cooper‘s CLNS Media “Showtime with Coop” podcast with guest Nick Gelso. The former Laker and current podcast host had plenty of kind things to say about this season’s Celtics squad, including the moment he became a believer in their collective championship capabilities.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston Celtics alum Daren Daye talks career vs. Los Angeles Lakers, more with Michael Cooper

Once, these two hardly spoke at all, at least on the court.

Once upon a time in the 1980s, you would have a very hard time getting former Boston Celtics small forward Darren Daye to have a conversation of any length with iconic Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Michael Cooper.

But here we are in our year of our lord 2024, and not only are the two former rivals talking, but they recently sat down to do a podcast together on Cooper’s CLNS Media “Showtime With Coop” podcast. The pair chatted about o Darren’s basketball journey, from his college days to playing with NBA legends, and his unforgettable moments on the court.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear their talk.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=590969556]

Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper and Boston Celtics alum Dee Brown share Larry Bird stories

Cooper and company got into some Larry Legend hijinks, and also touched on some Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Isaiah Thomas.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper had a heck of a career battling Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics for titles in the 1980s, so he has saved up a bevvy of stories to share from those halcyon days. And Coop recently shared a bunch of them on a recent episode of his CLNS Media “Showtime with Michael Cooper” podcast.

Cooper and company got into some Larry Legend hijinks, and also touched on some Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Isaiah Thomas dirt for good measure.  To top it off, the guest for the episode is none other than former Bird teammate and slam dunk specialist Dee Brown, who had some nuggets of his own to share in the show.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say about the Hick From French Lick and their peers from that era.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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