Lakers' Michael Cooper Being Inducted into Hall of Fame by Showtime Legends

Alex Kirschenbaum | Sep 17, 2024

May 1988; Dallas, TX, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward Michael Cooper (21) shoots over Dallas Mavericks forward Roy Tarpley (42) during the 1988 NBA Western Conference Finals at Reunion Arena. Mandatory Credit: MPS-Imagn Images / MPS-Imagn Images

The latest Los Angeles Lakers Showtime-era star to be named to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is set to be feted in style come October.

The Hall of Fame has revealed that 1987 Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper is set to be enshrined by five extant Hall of Famers with major Los Angeles ties. Cooper's former Lakers comrades Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy, plus his former L.A. head coach Pat Riley, are all set to present him to the Hall of Fame, as is former three-time Los Angeles Sparks MVP center Lisa Leslie.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Announces 2024 Enshrinement Ceremony Presenters. (2/4) #24HoopClass pic.twitter.com/YVIVAh1oab

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) September 12, 2024

Cooper, now 68, spent all 12 of his NBA seasons as a player with his hometown Lakers. An eight-time All-Defensive Teamer, Cooper was a key contributor on five NBA championship squads, despite mostly serving in a bench capacity. Cooper appeared on five All-Defensive First Teams and three All-Defensive Second Teams.

The 6-foot-7 shooting guard/small forward was selected with the No. 60 overall pick out of New Mexico in the 1978 NBA Draft. Across 873 career regular season games, Cooper logged averages of 8.9 points on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 83.3 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per bout.

Read More: Lakers Legend Michael Cooper Gives Heartfelt Reaction To Getting Jersey Number Retired

Cooper wrapped up his playing career abroad, playing for Italian club Virtus Roma. He was named an All-Star, and the Italian All-Star Game MVP that season.

Read More: Michael Cooper Picks 3 Other Lakers for Hall of Fame

Cooper served as an assistant coach on the Lakers from 1994-96, then coached Leslie on the Sparks, first as an assistant for the team's 1999 season, then as the head coach from 2000-04, which included a pair of championship seasons in 2001 and 2002. He was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2000. Cooper next moved on to stints with the Nuggets as an assistant and interim head coach, then-D League club the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, the USC women's basketball team, WNBA club the Atlanta Dream, high school programs at Chadwick School and Culver City High School, and most recently Cal State L.A. as an assistant head coach, where he's worked since 2023.

The ceremony will tip off on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET, and is set to be broadcast exclusively on NBA TV. Given that this will be Turner's final year with NBA broadcast rights, one wonders if that will extend to moments like this in the future, too.

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