Magic Johnson raves about Michael Cooper making it into Hall of Fame

[ad_1]
Laker forward Michael Cooper raises his finger to signify the Lakers are No. 1 after Game 2 of the 1987 NBA Finals, when he made six three-point shots in the win. (Bettmann Archive)

Magic Johnson answered his cell on the first ring and in a nanosecond his excitement was at a fever pitch.

“My boy made it! My boy made it! My boy Coop made the Hall of Fame!” Johnson exclaimed. “Damn! I was hollering, man, when I heard it. I couldn’t believe it. I was so excited for him, man.”

His “boy” is Michael Cooper, the defensive virtuoso on those dominant Lakers championship teams in the 1980s who indeed has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made Saturday, but Johnson had been overjoyed for a few days before it became official, his happiness at a high because Cooper was finally being recognized among the greats in the game of basketball because he was an integral part of five Lakers championships.

“This is one of the greatest Laker moments in the history of the franchise because here is a guy who is making it to the Hall of Fame and he didn’t even start,” Johnson said. “That tells you how great he was and also how everybody else knew how great he was. We knew how great he was and it’s good to know that everybody else felt the same way about his contributions to the game of basketball.

“It’s not just to the Lakers, but to the game of basketball was strong enough to make it to the Hall of Fame. To hear Larry Bird, all these guys say that he was the toughest defender that they had to go against, that says it all right there. And then myself knowing that because I practiced against the dude so I already knew he was the best defender.”

Lakers forward Michael Cooper, left, talks with coach Pat Riley during a game in 1985. (Focus On Sport / Getty Images)

Cooper never backed down when taking on the assignment of guarding some of the NBA’s greatest during his time: from Bird to Bernard King to Alex English to Dominique Wilkins to Isiah Thomas to Michael Jordan.

And that was why Cooper was the NBA’s defensive player of the year in 1987 and why he made the…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-defensive-star-michael-cooper-184104320.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-04-06 18:41:04

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.