Bio

Michael Cooper has starred on the court as a legendary NBA player and on the sidelines as a highly successful women's basketball head coach. As a player, Cooper was hailed by NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird as the toughest defender he ever played against. 

Cooper had a 12-year (1979-90) playing career with the "Showtime" Lakers and was a member of five NBA Championship teams (1980-82-85-87-88). Known for his defensive prowess, he made the NBA All-Defensive Team eight times and was the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. He finished ranked in the Lakers' Top 10 in 3-point field goals (428), games played (873), minutes played (23,635), steals (1,033), blocked shots (523), assists (3,666), defensive rebounds (2,028) and free-throw percentage (.833). He later played professionally in Italy in 1991 with Pallacanestro Virtus Roma. 

He attended Pasadena High School and then Pasadena City College (1974-76) before starring at the University of New Mexico, where he made the All-Western Athletic Conference first team as a senior in 1978. He was selected to the Lobo Hall of Honor in 1992. Active in the community, he was presented with the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1986 by the Pro Basketball Writer's Association and the Commitment to Excellence Award during the 2007 Los Angeles Sports Fans Choice Awards. 

Cooper had a remarkable run as a head coach of the Women's National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Sparks, which won five Western Conference championships, and guided the Sparks into the WNBA playoffs six times, winning the WNBA Championship in 2001 and 2002 (and finishing as runner-up in 2003). He was the 2000 WNBA Coach of the Year in his debut season. He later became head coach of the USC women's basketball program from 2009-2013.

Cooper served as a special assistant to Lakers general manager Jerry West for three years before joining the Lakers coaching staff for four seasons (1994-1997). He returned to the NBA in 2005 as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets, including a stint as interim head coach. He then became the head coach of the NBA Development League's Albuquerque Thunderbirds for two seasons (2006-07), winning the NBA D-League Championship in 2006.