The greatest sixth man from each NBA team

Greatest sixth man in Los Angeles Lakers history: Michael Cooper

The Showtime Lakers were an entity unto themselves in the NBA in the 1980s, the height of popularity at a time when the league needed a shot of that to stay afloat. Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers provided that and more, making the NBA Finals eight times in ten years.

The foil to Showtime was down-to-earth Indiana farm boy Larry Bird. Bird and the Boston Celtics won titles in 1981, 84 and 86. They may have won more but lost head-to-head to the Lakers twice. There was perhaps no player in the league who could slow down Larry Bird better than Michael Cooper, and he played for the Lakers.

“Coop” played all twelve of his seasons for the Lakers, and came off the bench primarily the entire time. With Magic Johnson and Byron Scott starting in the backcourt Cooper was brought in as the first sub as a defensive specialist, manning up on the other team’s best wing scorer. When the Lakers played the Celtics, that meant he took on Bird.

In her book “When the Game Was Ours” Jackie MacMullan quoted Larry Bird on the topic of being guarded by Michael Cooper.

“I knew when he was on me to make every open shot count, because there weren’t going to be many” (pg. 164). MacMullan later commented that Bird “never felt anyone except Cooper has successfully stymied him” (pg. 197). By way of illustration, it should be pointed out that Bird was 1-2 in Finals against Cooper and the Lakers and 2-0 otherwise.

Michael Cooper never stuffed the stat sheet or entertained crowds with his offensive prowess. He was certainly not a sixth man by the modern microwave-scorer definition. But he was one of the best one-on-one defenders in the league, and the Lakers deployed him to great success in winning five titles throughout his career. Never a full-time starter, Cooper nonetheless was an all-league defender eight times and won Defensive Player of the Year in 1987.