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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Michael Cooper
Career at a glance
Michael Cooper played 12 NBA regular seasons between 1978 and 1990, appearing in 873 games and averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He spent his whole career with L.A. Lakers (1978–90, 873 games). His best scoring season was 1981–82 with L.A. Lakers: 11.9 points per game over 76 games.
Championship seasons: 1979–80 (L.A. Lakers), 1981–82 (L.A. Lakers), 1984–85 (L.A. Lakers), 1986–87 (L.A. Lakers), 1987–88 (L.A. Lakers). In the playoffs he appeared in 11 postseason runs (168 games, 9.4 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 7,700 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Michael Cooper
Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956), nicknamed "Coop", is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles men's basketball team. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers during his entire career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning five NBA championships 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 in 2024. The Lakers retired his No. 21 jersey in 2025.
As a coach, Cooper led the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to two championships and the Albuquerque Thunderbirds to one NBA G League 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. Cooper was elevated to head coach in 2026.
- Born
- April 15, 1956 (age 70) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
- Listed weight
- 170 lb (77 kg)
- Position
- Shooting guard
- High school
- Pasadena (Pasadena, California)
- College
- Pasadena CC (1974–1976) New Mexico (1976–1978)
- NBA draft
- 1978: 3rd round, 60th overall pick
- Playing career
- 1978–1991
Career highlights and awards
- 5× NBA champion (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)
- NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1987)
- 5× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988)
- 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1981, 1983, 1986)
- No. 21 retired by Los Angeles Lakers
- Italian All-Star Game MVP (1991)
- First-team All-American – USBWA (1978)
- 2× First-team All-WAC (1977, 1978)
- 2× WNBA champion (2001, 2002)
- WNBA Coach of the Year (2000)
- NBA D–League champion (2006)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–79 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | 2.3 | .500 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | |||
| 1979–80† | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 24.1 | .524 | .250 | .776 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 8.8 | |
| 1980–81 | L.A. Lakers | 81 | 32.4 | .491 | .211 | .785 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 9.4 | |
| 1981–82† | L.A. Lakers | 76 | 14 | 28.9 | .517 | .118 | .813 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 11.9 |
| 1982–83 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 3 | 26.2 | .535 | .238 | .785 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 7.8 |
| 1983–84 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 9 | 29.1 | .497 | .314 | .838 | 3.2 | 5.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 9.0 |
| 1984–85† | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 20 | 26.7 | .465 | .285 | .865 | 3.1 | 5.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 8.6 |
| 1985–86 | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 15 | 27.7 | .452 | .387 | .865 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 9.2 |
| 1986–87† | L.A. Lakers | 82 | 2 | 27.5 | .438 | .385 | .851 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 10.5 |
| 1987–88† | L.A. Lakers | 61 | 8 | 29.4 | .392 | .320 | .858 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 8.7 |
| 1988–89 | L.A. Lakers | 80 | 13 | 24.3 | .431 | .381 | .871 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| 1989–90 | L.A. Lakers | 80 | 10 | 23.1 | .387 | .318 | .883 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 6.4 |
| Career | 873 | 94 | 27.1 | .469 | .340 | .833 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 8.9 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980† | L.A. Lakers | 16 | 29.0 | .407 | .000 | .861 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 9.1 | |
| 1981 | L.A. Lakers | 3 | 34.0 | .550 | .000 | .714 | 3.3 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 10.7 | |
| 1982† | L.A. Lakers | 14 | 27.4 | .565 | .500 | .735 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 11.9 | |
| 1983 | L.A. Lakers | 15 | 30.2 | .465 | .143 | .829 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 9.4 | |
| 1984 | L.A. Lakers | 21 | 34.4 | .461 | .333 | .806 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 11.3 | |
| 1985† | L.A. Lakers | 19 | 26.4 | .563 | .308 | .923 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 10.4 | |
| 1986 | L.A. Lakers | 14 | 30.1 | .470 | .463 | .818 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 9.7 | |
| 1987† | L.A. Lakers | 18 | 29.0 | .484 | .486 | .852 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 13.0 | |
| 1988† | L.A. Lakers | 24 | 24.5 | .412 | .403 | .741 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 6.4 | |
| 1989 | L.A. Lakers | 15 | 27.6 | .416 | .382 | .833 | 2.7 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 7.7 | |
| 1990 | L.A. Lakers | 9 | 19.2 | .286 | .250 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.6 | ||
| Career | 168 | 4 | 28.2 | .468 | .392 | .825 | 3.4 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 9.4 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 7″
- Weight
- 170 lb
- Position
- Shooting guard
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1978
- Draft pick
- Round 3 · Pick 60
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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