Michael Cooper
Michael Cooper was born in Los Angeles, California, United States on April 15th, 1956 and is the Basketball Coach. At the age of 68, Michael Cooper biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 68 years old, Michael Cooper has this physical status:
Michael Jerome Cooper (born April 15, 1956) is an American basketball coach and former footballer who serves as Chadwick School's boys varsity coach.
He worked with the USC Trojans as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Cooper, a former NBA player, won five NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era.
He has worked in the NBA, WNBA, and the NBA Development League.
Cooper is the only one to win a championship in the NBA and the NBA D-League, whether as a mentor or a player.
Early life
Cooper was born in Los Angeles. He broke one of his knees significantly when he was three years old, requiring 100 stitches to close. At the time, the doctor said he would never be able to walk.
Personal life
Cooper was diagnosed with early-stage tongue cancer in July 2014. He had surgery at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta and was able to recover.
College career
Cooper attended Pasadena High School, graduating in 1974, then Pasadena City College, before transferring to the University of New Mexico. He played for the New Mexico Lobos for two seasons (1976-78), and was named first team All-Western Athletic Conference. The United States Basketball Writers Association named Cooper as a first-team All-American in his senior year. Cooper was named the Lobos' WAC champion, with Cooper scoring 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
Professional career
Cooper, the Los Angeles Lakers' third round pick in 1978's NBA draft for the 60th overall pick, was a member of their Showtime squads of the 1980s with his defensive abilities. He was elected to the NBA All Defensive Team eight times in his career, including five first-team selections. Cooper and Norm Van Lier are the most defensive of any player not to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2022, he was selected as a finalist. In 1987, he was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, was a member of five Lakers championship teams in 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1988.
The rail-thin Cooper, who is best known for his knee-high socks, served as a shooting guard, small forward, and point guard, but his defensive assignment was usually the other team's best shooter at the 2 or 3 positions at 6 ft. (1.96 m). Cooper was the best defender he faced, according to Larry Bird. Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game over his career. The Lakers occasionally ran an alley-oop play for a popular player among Lakers fans, home crowds, and a famous player among Lakers fans, "Coooooooop" whenever he was in possession of the ball, and the Lakers often ran an alley-oop play for him. He was one of the top ten in three-point field goals (428), games played (473), assists (4,466), offensive rebounds (741), and free throw percentage (.833) after leaving the club following the 1989–90 season.
Cooper spent time in Italy during the 1990-91 season for Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in the Italian Serie A, averaging 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.3 blocks per game.
Coaching career
He spent three years as Special Assistant to Lakers general manager Jerry West before joining the Lakers' coaching staff in March 1994, then 1994 to 1997, ranging from 1994 to 1997.
Cooper joined the Los Angeles Sparks in 1999 as an assistant coach, and the team made it to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, with a record of 20–12.
He was promoted as the Sparks' head coach in November 1999, and the Sparks' record soared as they finished 28–4 in their 2000 campaign. For his performances, Cooper was named the WNBA Coach of the Year. The sparks were boosted by two WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002, but they were denied their third straight WNBA title after losing to the Detroit Shock in 2003.
Cooper took up teaching with the Denver Nuggets after the Sacramento Monarchs ended the Sparks' season in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Playoffs. After 24 games, Bzedlik was fired, and Cooper was named as the Nuggets' interim head coach. George Karl was brought on to coach the team a month later and spent the remainder of the season as a Scout for the Nuggets.
Cooper was the head coach of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds for three years (2005–07). In 2007, he joined the Thunderbirds after guiding them to the National Basketball Association D-Leon Championship in 2006.
Cooper then returned to coaching in the WNBA as head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks.
Cooper was named head coach of the University of Southern California's Women of Troy Basketball Team in May 2009. He resigned in 2013 after USC went 11-20 and finished seventh in the Pac-12 Conference, with a 7–11 record. At USC, he was 72-57 overall.
Cooper was hired by the Atlanta Dream as head coach in November 2013. Since an 11–22 season in 2017, his deal was not renewed by Atlanta.
Cooper agreed to coach 3's Company of the Big3 League in 2018.
Cooper was named the boys varsity coach at Chadwick School in Los Angeles County's Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Cooper took over as the head coach at Culver City High School on September 8, 2021.