Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper has picked Larry Bird as the hardest player for him to guard, even over Michael Jordan. During an appearance on the All The Smoke podcast, Cooper explained what made guarding Bird so hard for him.
“People ask me all the time, ‘Who is the hardest player (to guard)?’ and I always say him (Bird), “Cooper said. “I played against Michael Jordan, George Gervin, Andrew Toney, and those guys when they pass the ball, they have a tendency to take a break for a second.
“Larry never gonna take a break,” Cooper stated. “Larry’s going to go get an offensive rebound, he’s going to go set a back pick, he was going to do something to impact that possession and so, that’s why he was the hardest.”
Bird’s ability to impact the game in so many ways is what made him so tough to guard for Cooper. He wasn’t just a greater scorer, but a terrific playmaker and rebounder too. If you gave him time and space, he was going to rip your defense in one way or the other.
Bird averaged 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game in his 13-year career with the Boston Celtics. He had many epic battles with Cooper, with the Celtics and Lakers facing off in the 1984, 1985, and 1987 NBA Finals.
Bird’s Celtics won the first clash, but the Lakers emerged victorious in the next two to gain bragging rights. Cooper was unable to stop Bird from putting on a show in those matchups but did slow him down a bit and helped the Lakers get the upper hand. In this episode, he also spoke about how he approached the task of guarding the Celtics icon.
“I never tried to hurt him or anything like that,” Cooper stated. “Detroit had the Jordan Rules… I just tried to play Larry head up and just play him as honest as I could, because the great ones you’re not going to affect them with that bulls*** to come. Pulling his shirts, talking s*** to him. You couldn’t talk to Larry ’cause he then ignored you.”
Cooper played Bird hard but fair and earned his respect in the process. During his retirement press conference in 1992, Bird hailed Cooper as the best defender he played against.
“The best defensive player ever to guard me was Michael Cooper,” Larry said. “I’ll take that to my grave with me. He was a very intelligent defensive player, he’s very focused, and it was great to play against him because I was at a level at that time I thought I was playing some great basketball, and he was able to guard me pretty well.”
Cooper certainly was one of the best in the business. He won DPOY in 1987 and made eight All-Defensive teams in 12 seasons with the Lakers, who had drafted him with the 60th pick of the 1978 NBA Draft.
Cooper would end up averaging 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in his career. The 68-year-old was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024 and the Lakers retired his No. 21 jersey on Jan. 13, 2025.
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