- Robert Horry believes the Los Angeles Lakers must retire Michael Cooper’s jersey
- LeBron James’ jersey will surely be retired by the Lakers after his decorated career
- Cooper was instrumental in the Showtime Lakers’ five championships in the 80s
Former Los Angeles Lakers forward Robert Horry believes that it would be unfair if the franchise retires LeBron James’ jersey, and not retire Michael Cooper’s while at it.
Responding to team owner Jeanie Buss’s comments who said James’ jersey would eventually be retired by the team given his guaranteed Hall of Fame career, Horry also outlined that Cooper deserved to have his jersey hanging in the rafters as well. Speaking via his Big Shot Bob Podcast:
“I base everything off Michael Cooper. You know, it is just so hard for me when you retire a guy’s number and you don’t retire Michael Cooper’s number. And it is just, to me, it don’t…nobody should go before him. You know, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, help win championships. He always guarded the people that Magic couldn’t.”
“It’s just so many things that, you know, and that goes to show you have people in the league and NBA and across. They don’t appreciate defense unless you’re Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman. And I just think that if you retire LeBron’s jersey, you gotta retire Michael Cooper’s ‘cause he’s just a Laker legend to me.”
Cooper, the 60th overall pick of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Lakers is as underrated as a player could get. Known for his man-to-man defense, he could lock up the most lethal players and was instrumental in the team, that won five titles during the 80s.
In his 12 seasons in the NBA, Cooper was outstanding with a resume that saw him named to five All-Defensive First Teams, three All-Defensive Second Teams, and was the NBA’s 1987 Defensive Player of the Year winner.
On the defensive front, James is a five-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player and made the second team once. From a championship standpoint, Cooper has five rings, one more than James making Horry’s case for retiring the former’s jersey even stronger.
Michael Cooper Was A Belligerent Defensive Presence For The Lakers
Such was his ferocity as a defender that even the greatest players had to doff their hats to Michael Cooper. His Lakers teammate Magic Johnson, and Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird named him as one of the toughest defenders ever to get past.
According to Basketball Network, Bird had lavished praise on Cooper as one of the grittiest and toughest players who could lock him up, and the same sentiment was echoed by Johnson who said Cooper would get the better of him during practice.
In his 12 seasons with the Lakers, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists, but more so than the numbers, it was his sheer defensive presence that was pivotal in the Showtime Lakers bagging five titles — each of which Cooper thoroughly deserved.
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