SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – New Mexico basketball great Michael Cooper has been selected as 2024 inductee of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Cooper will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Mass., on August 16-17.
Cooper is joined in the Class of 2024 by Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Seimone Augustus, Bo Ryan, Walter Davis, Michele Timms, Jerry West, Doug Collins, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Herb Simon and Charles Smith.
A native of Pasadena, Calif., the 6-7 Cooper played two seasons for the Lobos from 1976-78 after transferring from Pasadena City College. He was a first-team All-WAC selection in both his seasons in Albuquerque and earned first-team All-America honors in 1977-78 after leading the Lobos to a 24-4 record and a WAC championship. Cooper averaged 15.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game during his two seasons at UNM before being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 60 overall pick of the 1978 NBA Draft.
Cooper played 11 seasons with the Lakers from 1978-90, winning five NBA Championships during the Showtime Lakers era with fellow Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. An eight-time NBA All-Defensive Team honoree, he was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1986-87. Cooper finished his career with over 1,000 steals and 500 blocks over his 11 seasons in the NBA.
Following his retirement in 1991, Cooper has coached for over three decades. He was the head coach of the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks for two separate tenures, including leading the team to back-to-back WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002 and earning 2000 WNBA Coach of the Year honors. He also had a stint as the head coach of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream from 2014-17. Cooper was an assistant coach in the NBA with the Lakers in the late 1990s and with the Denver Nuggets in 2004-05, serving as interim head coach for 14 games that season. For three seasons (2005-07), Cooper was the head coach of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the NBA D-League (now G-League), guiding them to the 2006 league title. He was also the head coach of the USC women’s basketball program from 2009-13.
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