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Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956), nicknamed "Coop", is an American
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
coach and former player. He played for the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
during his entire career in the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA), winning five
NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
s with the Lakers during their Showtime era. He was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including five times on the first team. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. Cooper was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
in 2024. The Lakers retired his 21 jersey in 2025. As a coach, Cooper led the
Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...
of the
Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...
(WNBA) to two championships and the Albuquerque Thunderbirds to one
NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...
title. He has also coached in the NBA, WNBA, and the NBA Development League. He was the head coach for boys basketball at Culver City High School in California from 2021 to 2023. He then took an assistant coaching job for men's basketball at California State University, Los Angeles.


Early life

Michael Jerome Cooper was born on April 15, 1956, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California. When he was three years old, he cut one of his knees severely, requiring 100 stitches to close. At the time the doctor said that he would never be able to walk. Cooper attended Pasadena High School, where he excelled in
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
. He graduated in 1974.


College career

Cooper attended Pasadena City College before transferring to the University of New Mexico. He played for the New Mexico Lobos for two seasons, 1976–78, and was named first team All-Western Athletic Conference. In Cooper's senior season, he was named a first-team
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The Lobos won the WAC title, with Cooper averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.


Professional career


Los Angeles Lakers (1978–1990)

Selected by the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
in the third round of the 1978 NBA draft with the 60th overall pick, Cooper became an integral part of their Showtime teams of the 1980s with his defensive skills. In a twelve-year career, he was named to the NBA All Defensive Team eight times, including five first-team selections. Until 2024, Cooper and Norm Van Lier had the most defensive selections of any player to not be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He was named a finalist in 2022 and was selected for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2024. He won the
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The NBA Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and b ...
in 1987. He, along with
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( ; born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. , April 16, 1947) is an American former basketball player. He played professionally for 20 seasons for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Associatio ...
and Magic Johnson, was a member of five Lakers championship teams in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. At 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), 174 lb (77 kg), the rail-thin Cooper known for his knee-high socks, played shooting guard, small forward, and point guard, although his defensive assignment was usually the other team's best shooter at the 2 or 3 position.
Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...
has said that Cooper was the best defender he faced. For his career, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game. A popular player among Lakers fans, home crowds were known to chant, "Coooooooop" whenever he controlled the ball, and the Lakers sometimes ran an alley-oop play for him that was dubbed the "Coop-a-loop." Leaving the team after the 1989–90 season, he was ranked among the club's all-time top 10 in three-point field goals (428), games played (873), total minutes played (23,635), steals (1033), blocked shots (523), assists (3,666), defensive rebounds (2,028), offensive rebounds (741), and free throw percentage (.833).


Pallacanestro Virtus Roma (1990–1991)

Cooper then played for the 1990–91 season in Italy for Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in the Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
, averaging 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.8 assists, and 0.3 blocks per game.


Coaching career


Los Angeles Lakers (1994–1997)

Following Cooper's playing career, he served as Special Assistant to Lakers' general manager Jerry West for three years before joining the Lakers' coaching staff in March 1994 under Magic Johnson, then with Del Harris from 1994 to 1996.


Los Angeles Sparks (1999–2004)

Cooper became an assistant coach of the WNBA's
Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...
in 1999, and helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, with a record of 20–12. He was named the Sparks' head coach in November 1999, and the Sparks' record quickly improved, as they finished 28–4 in their 2000 campaign. Cooper was named the WNBA Coach of the Year for his efforts. The Sparks followed with consecutive WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002, but were denied a third straight WNBA title by losing to the Detroit Shock in 2003.


Denver Nuggets (2004–2005)

After the Sacramento Monarchs ended the Sparks' run in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Playoffs, Cooper took a job as an assistant coach under Jeff Bzdelik with the
Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
. After 24 games, Bzedlik was fired, and Cooper was named the Nuggets' interim head coach. He remained interim head coach until
George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, he became an assistant with the team before being appointed as a head coach ...
was brought in to coach the team about a month later and served as a scout for the Nuggets the remainder of the season.


Albuquerque Thunderbirds (2005–2007)

Cooper was the head coach of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds for three years (2005–07). In 2007, he left the Thunderbirds after coaching them to the National Basketball Association D- League Championship in 2006.


Return to Sparks (2007–2009)

Cooper then returned to coaching in the WNBA as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.


USC Trojans' women's basketball team (2009–2013)

In May 2009, Cooper was named head coach of the University of Southern California's Women of Troy Basketball Team. He quit in 2013 after USC went 11–20 and finished seventh in the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...
with a 7–11 record. He was 72–57 overall at USC.


Atlanta Dream (2014–2017)

In November 2013, Cooper was hired by the Atlanta Dream as head coach. His contract was not renewed by Atlanta after an 11–22 season in 2017.


Chadwick (2019–2021)

In 2018, Cooper signed on to coach 3's Company of the Big3 League. In 2019, Cooper was named the boys varsity coach at Chadwick School in the Palos Verdes Peninsula of
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
.


Culver City (2021–2023)

Cooper became the head coach at Culver City High School on September 8, 2021.


California State University, Los Angeles

Cooper became an assistant head coach of men's basketball at Cal State, LA in 2023.


Head coaching record


NBA

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WNBA

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, style="text-align:left;",
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, 34, , 24, , 10, , , , align="center", 1st in Western, , , 9, , 5, , 4, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost WNBA Finals , - , - , style="text-align:left;",
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, style="text-align:left;",
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, 20, , 14, , 6, , , , align="center", (resigned), , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - , style="text-align:left;",
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, 34, , 20, , 14, , , , align="center", 3rd in Western, , , 6, , 3, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, 34, , 18, , 16, , , , align="center", 3rd in Western, , , 6, , 3, , 3, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conference Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
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2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, 34, , 19, , 15, , , , align="center", 1st in Eastern, , , 3, , 1, , 2, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost First Round , - , style="text-align:left;",
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
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2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
, 34, , 15, , 19, , , , align="center", 5th in Eastern, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - , style="text-align:left;",
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
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2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, 34, , 17, , 17, , , , align="center", 4th in Eastern, , , 2, , 1, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost Second Round , - , style="text-align:left;",
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
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2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, 34, , 12, , 22, , , , align="center", 5th in Eastern, , , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 388, , 230, , 158, , , , , , 43, , 27, , 16, , , ,


D-League

, -! style="background:#FDE910;" , style="text-align:left;", Albuquerque , style="text-align:left;", 2005–06 , 48, , 26, , 22, , , , align="center", 2nd, , , 2, , 2, , 0, , , style="text-align:center;", Won D-League Championship , - , style="text-align:left;", Albuquerque , style="text-align:left;", 2006–07 , 50, , 24, , 26, , , , align="center", 3rd in Western, , , 1, , 0, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in First Round , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 98, , 50, , 48, , , , , , 2, , 2, , 1, ,


College


NBA career statistics


Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 3 , , , , 2.3 , , .500 , , , , , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , , , 24.1 , , .524 , , .250 , , .776 , , 2.8 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 8.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 81 , , , , 32.4 , , .491 , , .211 , , .785 , , 4.1 , , 4.1 , , 1.6 , , 1.0 , , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 76 , , 14 , , 28.9 , , .517 , , .118 , , .813 , , 3.5 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.8 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 3 , , 26.2 , , .535 , , .238 , , .785 , , 3.3 , , 3.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.6 , , 7.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 9 , , 29.1 , , .497 , , .314 , , .838 , , 3.2 , , 5.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 20 , , 26.7 , , .465 , , .285 , , .865 , , 3.1 , , 5.2 , , 1.1 , , 0.6 , , 8.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 15 , , 27.7 , , .452 , , .387 , , .865 , , 3.0 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.5 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 82 , , 2 , , 27.5 , , .438 , , .385 , , .851 , , 3.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 61 , , 8 , , 29.4 , , .392 , , .320 , , .858 , , 3.7 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.4 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 80 , , 13 , , 24.3 , , .431 , , .381 , , .871 , , 2.4 , , 3.9 , , 0.9 , , 0.4 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 80 , , 10 , , 23.1 , , .387 , , .318 , , .883 , , 2.8 , , 2.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 6.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 873 , , 94 , , 27.1 , , .469 , , .340 , , .833 , , 3.2 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 8.9


Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 16, , , , 29.0, , .407, , .000, , .861, , 3.7, , 3.6, , 1.5, , 0.7, , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;,
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 3, , , , 34.0, , .550, , .000, , .714, , 3.3, , 2.3, , 2.0, , 0.0, , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1982† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 14, , , , 27.4, , .565, , .500, , .735, , 4.4, , 4.4, , 1.7, , 0.8, , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;,
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 15, , , , 30.2, , .465, , .143, , .829, , 3.9, , 2.9, , 1.7, , 0.4, , 9.4 , - , style="text-align:left;,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 21, , , , 34.4, , .461, , .333, , .806, , 3.9, , 5.7, , 1.1, , 1.0, , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 19, , , , 26.4, , .563, , .308, , .923, , 4.0, , 4.9, , 1.1, , 0.5, , 10.4 , - , style="text-align:left;, 1986 , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 14, , , , 30.1, , .470, , .463, , .818, , 3.3, , 4.9, , 1.3, , 0.3, , 9.7 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 18, , , , 29.0, , .484, , .486, , .852, , 3.3, , 5.0, , 1.4, , 0.8, , 13.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1988† , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 24, , , , 24.5, , .412, , .403, , .741, , 2.4, , 2.8, , 0.8, , 0.4, , 6.4 , - , style="text-align:left;,
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
, style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 15, , , , 27.6, , .416, , .382, , .833, , 2.7, , 4.7, , 0.6, , 0.5, , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;, 1990 , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Lakers , 9, , , , 19.2, , .286, , .250, , , , 2.7, , 2.8, , 0.8, , 0.4, , 2.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 168 , , 4 , , 28.2 , , .468 , , .392 , , .825 , , 3.4 , , 4.2 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 9.4


Personal life

In July 2014, Cooper was diagnosed with early-stage tongue cancer. He had surgery at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, and was able to recuperate.


See also

*
List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a men's professional basketball league of 30 teams in North America (29 in the United States and one in Canada). The NBA was founded on June 6, 1946, in New York City, as the Basketball Association of ...


References


External links

* Coaching record at basketball-reference.com
NBA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Michael 1956 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen African-American basketball coaches All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players American women's basketball coaches Atlanta Dream coaches Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Los Angeles Basketball players from Pasadena, California Big3 coaches Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Denver Nuggets head coaches Los Angeles Lakers assistant coaches Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Los Angeles Lakers players Los Angeles Sparks head coaches NBA players with retired numbers New Mexico Lobos men's basketball players Virtus Roma players Pasadena City Lancers men's basketball players Pasadena High School (California) alumni People from View Park–Windsor Hills, California Shooting guards Small forwards USC Trojans women's basketball coaches Women's National Basketball Association championship–winning head coaches