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Lakers Honor Michael Cooper by Retiring No. 21 Jersey in Emotional Ceremony

Decades after serving as the defensive anchor for the Showtime Lakers, Michael Cooper now takes his rightful place alongside the era's legends in the rafters.
Anna Ciao
By: Anna Ciao

Michael Cooper, the defensive backbone of the Showtime Lakers, dedicated his entire career to elevating his star-studded teammates and ensuring their success. On Monday night, it was finally his turn to bask in the spotlight.

During halftime of the Lakers' game against the San Antonio Spurs, the 17-time NBA champions honored Cooper by raising his No. 21 jersey to the rafters. Positioned between Magic Johnson’s No. 32 and James Worthy’s No. 42, Cooper’s jersey now joins the pantheon of Lakers legends in their downtown arena.

The placement is fitting for Cooper, the tireless glue guy who kept the Lakers’ dazzling, fast-paced teams cohesive during their run to five NBA championships in the 1980s.

“This is so overwhelming to me because I never expected this at all,” the 68-year-old Cooper shared. “I always played for the love of the game, the team, and winning championships. Tonight is, to me, more special than the Hall of Fame — but both of them are equally important.”

Michael Cooper remains a beloved figure in the Los Angeles area, a fact underscored by the standing ovations and chants of “Coooooooop” that echoed throughout the night. The Lakers marked the occasion by giving every fan at their downtown arena a replica Cooper jersey, creating a special atmosphere for their first home game since wildfires devastated the region.

The jersey retirement came on an emotional evening, as the Lakers returned to action following the postponement of two games due to the catastrophic fires. Cooper, a Pasadena native who also lived in nearby Altadena—areas hit hard by the Eaton Canyon blaze—reflected on the bittersweet nature of the night.

“It’s kind of a happy-sad moment for me,” Cooper said. “A lot of the landmarks, a couple of the middle schools I went to, those are all gone now. Tonight I’m going to enjoy it, but with a heavy heart because so many people lost so many things.”

Cooper, enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last October—33 years after his final NBA game—earned his rightful place among the Lakers’ legends. The franchise, which only retires the numbers of Hall of Famers, wasted no time in announcing Cooper’s inclusion among basketball’s elite.

Michael Cooper never made an All-Star team, but he epitomized the 1980s prototype of today’s 3-and-D specialists, a role now considered essential in the modern NBA. A defensive powerhouse, Cooper earned five All-Defensive First Team selections and was crowned the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987.

“I always tried to play the game the right way,” Cooper reflected. “It’s such a good feeling that people recognize that. Although I’ve always been on a team with a lot of megastars, sometimes I got overshadowed. But that didn’t bother me, because it was always about the body of work we were putting together, and winning championships.”

After his playing days, Cooper transitioned into coaching, leading the Los Angeles Sparks to two WNBA championships and cementing his legacy in basketball beyond the NBA.

During the halftime ceremony, Cooper was joined by former Lakers coach Pat Riley and several of his Showtime-era teammates, including Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott, Norm Nixon, Jamaal Wilkes, Kurt Rambis, and Vlade Divac.

Johnson opened the speeches with a heartfelt tribute, declaring Cooper “one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball.”

 

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Anna Ciao
Written by: Anna Ciao
Anna Ciao is a sports content contributor at Betimate. Born and raised in a rural village in China, I have had a passion for football and various sports such as basketball, volleyball, badminton, from a young age. Along with diligent studies, I achieved an IELTS score of 8.0 in the English language, and I have become a content contributor specializing in sports, particularly football, as I am today. I hope that my articles are helpful to readers.

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