Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dishes on Michael Cooper’s defense on Larry Bird and Michael Jordan & Hall-of-Fame induction (Exclusive)
The Los Angeles Lakers won five NBA championships during the ‘Showtime Era’ for reasons beyond Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s signature skyhook and Magic Johnson’s deft passing. Michael Cooper also played a key role with his perimeter defense during the Lakers’ five title runs (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988).
By mastering that job description, Cooper collected an NBA Defensive Player of the Year award (1987) and landed on multiple All-NBA Defensive teams (five first Teams and three second teams). Cooper excelled so much in that area that he will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Oct. 13 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Abdul-Jabbar, who devotes considerable time to his Substack these days, will serve as a presenter both for Cooper and for the late Jerry West, who will be inducted as a contributor as a longtime executive after already entering the HOF as a player and a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team.
“I really appreciate being Coop’s teammate. He really helped me succeed,” Abdul-Jabbar told Sportskeeda. “I feel like that is a great thing. I’m thankful. I will express that at any time and at any place.”
Abdul-Jabbar spoke to Sportskeeda about Cooper’s strong defense against Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, his growth as an outside shooter and how they played pranks on each other. Abdul-Jabbar also touched on West, who oversaw the Lakers’ front office partly during the “Showtime Era.’
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Michael Cooper earning Hall of Fame honors
Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.
What was your reaction when you heard Michael Cooper would get inducted into the Hall-of-Fame?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “‘Finally!’ He did a lot of things for us at crucial times. It wasn’t always like that, but he was always ready when we needed him. He was our defensive stopper.
"I remember I was alligator wrestling with Darryl Dawkins [with the Philadelphia 76ers]. I remember one time Darryl went to go up, and I went up with him. We met at Michael Cooper (laughs). We met at Michael Cooper’s head. He was there to help.
"Cooper was never seen as a big man. But he would do anything and anywhere on the court. Sometimes, he would come off the bench and shoot a couple of 3-pointers, especially if we needed him. Whatever we needed from him, he tried to give it to us. So I’m happy that he’s going to get that recognition. He deserves it.”
I saw you had also tweeted about that Darryl Dawkins memory after Cooper’s Hall of Fame announcement. What do you remember how you processed at the time seeing Cooper willing to mix it up with someone with such size?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I thought he might get his shoulder displaced (laughs). That’s what I thought. But for that matter, I thought I might get my shoulder displaced. But he was there to help me. I didn’t have to ask him or look to the bench. He was on the court, and he was there to help me."
What jumped out to you with Coop’s defensive matchups with Larry Bird over the years?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I would say his tenacity. Larry had several moves that he put on people that left them scratching their heads. He might have been a victim once or twice. But after that, you should ask Larry. I remember those guys going at it.”
Larry has famously said that Coop was his toughest defensive matchup. What did Coop do to try to make things difficult for him?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “He would play Larry’s right hand. Larry was good with using his left hand. He would make great passes with his left hand. But he didn’t shoot with his left hand very often. But Coop would have his notebook out. When it got serious, that’s what he prepared to do.”
What was their banter like?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I don’t think there was a whole lot. I don’t remember trash talking. I had too much to do (laughs).”
In what ways do you think that Coop may have benefitted from not talking that much trash to his opponent?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “Coop, at a certain point, he figured he had a unique position to fill. There was no need to make it even more difficult on yourself. That’s really stupid. Coop wasn’t going to do that.”
Beyond Larry Bird and Darryl Dawkins, what were your other favorite defensive matchups where Coop excelled?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “Well, he had to guard Michael Jordan and he did a good job. He managed to defend him so that Michael knew that he was being defended. Not that anybody was able to hold Michael to very few points. But maybe enough for us to win a game or two.”
How did you see Coop approach the challenge of defending MJ?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “Just with knowing where he likes to shoot. He was on his shooting hand. That was part of his daily routine. He made sure he established that. He would find his shooting hand when he was going up to try to block any shots.”
Where do you rank Cooper among the NBA’s all-time defenders?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I’d rate him with the top couple of them. I didn’t get to see K.C. Jones often. But they used to play double headers at Madison Square Garden. K.C. used to take Jerry West out of the game. Jerry couldn’t get done much offensively because K.C. was on him. There are a couple of guys like that.
"I’m not going to be able to recall all of them. But I’m sure K.C. will be on everybody’s list at or near the top because of what he did consistently. When Dave Bing was a rookie, K.C. used to take him out of the game. These are people that people have a lot of respect for.”
You mentioned Coop’s outside shooting earlier. In Game 2 of the 1987 Finals, he had 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting and went 6-for-7 from 3. What do you think got him going to have a night like that?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “He saw that everybody was crowding the middle. James Worthy and I could not get near the basket. We were getting double or triple teamed. So they had to leave a gap. Michael filled that gap.
"He could make a number of them in a row once you’re feeling for it, especially if you’re a good shooter. I’m just thinking in my mind what Dell must have done with Steph Curry. Dell knew drills and knew how you can break a game open with that shot. His son picked it up.”
Coop played with you during all of the Lakers’ five championship runs. How did you see Coop develop his outside shooting over the years?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I didn’t watch Coop every day. But he had to have worked on it on his own. Sometimes he, Magic [Johnson] and Byron [Scott] would shoot together. I don’t know what they were betting, but it wasn’t money (laughs). But at practice, sometimes after practice and a lot of times before practice, they would challenge each other.”
So friendly wagering is what you’re saying?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “Yeah, I don’t think any money crossed hands.”
How did those shooting contests play out?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “They’d pick a spot in the 3-point area, and they would try to make one. It was pretty simple (laughs). Byron made a few more. But I remember the time that I made mine. A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis and I had a contest before practice. We were in Phoenix. I had to run out to the corner to get a rebound bounced long. I put my feet behind the line and made one. It was the only one (laughs).”
I saw you and Coop shared in a podcast about certain pranks you played on each other. What were the stories behind that?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I would get finished with the sports section. I’d read through that pretty quickly. But I liked to read The New York Times. So Coop came up and smacked it out of my hands. I told him that he was going to regret that. At the time, I let it slide and I think he forgot. So we were flying cross country to New Orleans. It was a 3 ½-4 hour flight. I was ready.
"I took some Nair. Coop was behind me asleep. So I took some Nair and put a stripe of it down the top of his head. Then I didn’t do anything else. When we landed, Magic said, ‘Hey Coop; what is that?’ He tried to wipe it off. He left a big bare spot on his head (laughs). He had to figure out how to deal with that.”
How did Coop react to that?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I don’t remember, but I had warned him off. I didn’t usually do those kinds of things to guys. So that wasn’t nice. Magic instigated it by giving him $100, right?”
Correct me if I’m wrong. But I read that Cooper offered Magic $100 to swat the sports section out of your hands.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I believe Mr. Cooper took the $100 from Magic. But you can ask him about that (laughs).”
How about with Jerry. He’s going to get in the Hall of Fame for the third time as a contributor for his executive role. What did Jerry mean to you when he oversaw the Lakers’ front office?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “When he was working with the ‘Showtime Lakers,’ he tried to keep us as competitive as he could. Getting AC and Kurt Rambis, both of whom weren’t really that well known, but they managed to fit in. That had a lot to do with Jerry’s ability to play the game and understand what people could contribute to a game.
"I was 14 [years old] when I met Jerry. NBA teams used to practice at my high school. I was watching them practice. You had about 10 to 15 minutes to watch them practice. It was Jerry’s rookie year [in 1960], and the Lakers had just transferred to Los Angeles from Minneapolis. It was a really interesting team.
"I followed the NBA when I was in grade school. He played for the team. Then he coached it. Then he managed it. He was a great advisor when the other folks at different ownership groups got involved. He was still able to give good advice as to how to stay on top.
You’ve often called Jerry a mentor. In what ways did he mentor you?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “He was a mentor because he could tell you what you needed to work on without making you feel that he was berating you. I remember when I had issues that I could talk to Jerry.
"He might not agree with me on the issue. But he’d talk to me and then give me a valid reason on why we were going to do it his way. I think that’s a step above most general managers. Most don’t know guys on the team personally.”
Would you consider Jerry to be the best executive ever in the history of the NBA?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “I think so. I know the people with Celtics management would probably have a lot to say about that. We came on later than the Celtics did. They started out getting people to see what was important and used their spots on the bench prudently.”
But with Jerry, what do you think he saw in players that others didn’t see with both evaluating talent and how they’d fit on a team?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “He could see if people were fundamentally prepared. All they needed to do was work on it and work on it. He could tell if somebody was willing to do that and if somebody wasn’t. James Worthy is a great example.
"He came on and was ready to learn all of the things that he needed to learn. He had no problem catching the ball on the fast break. He was prepared a month or two into his first season. He was ready to be an All-League player.”
Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.