50 Greatest NBA/ABA Players Not In the Hall Of Fame
By Phil Watson
Copyright 1987 NBAE (Photo by Jon Soohoo/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Lakers selected New Mexico guard Michael Cooper in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft and the pencil-thin kid from Pasadena turned into a defensive menace.
After playing in only three games as a rookie, Cooper developed into a key backcourt reserve in his second season and averaged 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals as the Lakers won the first of their five NBA titles in the decade.
Cooper put up 13.3 points a game in the 1982 NBA Finals, another six-game win over the Philadelphia 76ers; averaged 10.2 points a night as the Lakers took down the Boston Celtics in six games in 1985; scored 12 points a game in the six-game triumph over the Celtics in 1987; and despite a shooting slump, played a big role defensively as the Lakers came back to defeat the Detroit Pistons in Games 6 and 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals.
Cooper was also an eight-time All-Defensive selection, capped by being named the Defensive Player of the Year in 1986-87 despite starting just two games.
In 12 NBA seasons, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 27.1 minutes per game, shooting .469/.340/.833.
He was waived by the Lakers in August 1990 and signed with the Indiana Pacers, but was waived before the start of the 1990-91 season and wound up playing in Italy, retiring after that campaign.