Hall of Fame Lakers Legend Rips Into 'Lazy' Luka Doncic

Jeremy Hanna | Aug 18, 2024

Jun 14, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) reacts during the firs half of game four against the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

There are many people who will argue that Luka Doncic is one of the greatest players active today, especially after leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals.

Michael Cooper isn't one of those people.

During an episode of his Showtime podcast, Cooper had to decide who he would start, bench and cut between Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks, Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks, and Doncic. Needless to say, Cooper had interesting things to say about Luka Magic.

“Luka [Dončić] gives you that triple-double almost about every night, but he’s too slow for me," Cooper said. "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.”

In the end, Cooper wound up starting Lillard, benching Doncic, and cutting Irving.

While this criticism may seem harsh, it doesn't take away from Doncic's skill and accomplishments. Currently, Doncic has a career average of 28.7 points, 8.7 total rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He was also named Rookie of the Year in 2019 and is also a five-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA First Team member.

But as a defensive standout, it makes sense for Cooper to look at Doncic this way. Cooper spent thirteen years with the Lakers in the Showtime era. While he didn't have the offensive capabilities of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, he was an important defensive piece off the bench. In his career, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 1.2 steals, 2.7 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game.

With Showtime, Cooper was a five-time NBA Champion and the Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times.

Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. It was also announced that his number would be retired by the Lakers on January 13, 2025.

Cooper has also had massive success as a coach. His most notable tenure was with the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. After helping the team reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history as an assistant coach in 1999, he took them even further as head coach.

In his debut year, Cooper helped the Sparks improve their 20-12 record to 28-4. He was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2000 and then led the team to consecutive WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002. The team made the finals again in 2003 but lost to the Detroit Shock.

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