Lakers News: Magic Johnson Details Petition to Get Showtime Teammate Inducted into Hall of Fame

Johnson helped his former teammate make the HOF.

Sep 7, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Spirit owner Magic Johnson before the game against Portland Thorns FC at Audi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images / Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Former Los Angeles Lakers champion Michael Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday, 34 years after his NBA playing career came to an end. During his illustrious career, Cooper helped the Showtime Lakers win five NBA championships, helping establish one of the best dynasties in NBA history.

Cooper's former teammate Magic Johnson was one of the largest advocates for Cooper making the Hall of Fame.

“I kept telling everybody, writing, telling everybody that you can’t judge the impact on just stats and numbers,” Johnson said, via Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “Coop, he wasn’t really a sixth man, really. He played starters’ minutes. He was always finishing the games. He played the best of the best. They all said he was the best who guarded them. And then I said, who else has won defensive player of the year coming off the bench? The same year he hit six threes in the NBA championship and broke the record at that time."

Cooper was not necessarily prolific on the stat sheet — he averaged 8.9 points per game over his career — but was one of the NBA's best defenders during his era. Cooper won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in 1987 and was named NBA All-Defensive First Team five times.

Johnson believes Cooper's defense and play in championships, against the best opponents in the biggest of moments, made him Hall of Fame worthy.

“I tell people this: It’s when you perform in the biggest moments," Johnson said. "His value to us was Hall of Fame-worthy. His value to the league — because now guys want to be defensive guys because of Coop. So, once he established himself on the offensive end, which he did — point guard, backing me up; he could play three positions, so, he was the first three-and-D [player]. He mastered that. And, so, that’s why I kept pushing, kept tweeting, kept sending letters. I’m just happy that everything turned out great, because if anybody deserves to be Hall of Fame-worthy and a Hall of Famer, it’s Michael Cooper.”

Cooper now has joined former Showtime teammates Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Jamaal Wilkes in the Hall of Fame.

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