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Five-time champ Michael Cooper's journey from 60th overall pick to the Hall of Fame | NBA on ESPN

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ESPN's Jay Harris and Marc Spears chat with 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Cooper before his induction. The 1987 Defensive Player of the Year, Cooper was a key defender on the high-scoring "Showtime" Lakers of the 1980s. Complementing stars like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Cooper and the Lakers made eight NBA Finals and won five championships in the decade. Later, Cooper became a WNBA Coach of the Year, bringing his winning mentality to the Los Angeles Sparks to the tune of two league championships in 2001 and 2002.

0:00 Intro
1:55 When basketball became his favorite sport
2:44 Getting the Hall of Fame call
4:50 The characteristics of a Hall of Famer
7:05 Guarding Larry Bird
8:34 Larry Bird's trash-talking
10:08 Falling in love with defense
12:31 The 1980 NBA Finals
14:08 The 1984 NBA Finals
15:28 The chemistry of the 'Showtime' Lakers
17:57 The perks of stardom in LA
19:54 The origin of the 'Coop-A-Loop'
21:21 His jersey retirement in 2025
25:29 A childhood injury that could have changed history
27:15 The importance of family
29:48 The growth of the WNBA
32:38 Thoughts on the Clippers moving to Inglewood
34:10 A walk down memory lane at The Forum
35:10 State of the current Lakers
35:55 Hot take: The Lakers will win it all this year
36:18 Thoughts on LeBron and Bronny James playing together
38:25 A little inspiration for the road

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Category
Basketball
Tags
espn, nba, nba espn
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