12. Michael Cooper
Before becoming the Los Angeles Sparks or an NBA Analyst, Michael Cooper was a lifetime Los Angeles Laker.
Drafted in the third round, I know weird, of the 1978 NBA Draft, Coop played 12 seasons for the Purple and Gold and played an integral role for the the Showtime Lakers.
Coming off the bench for most of his career, only starting 94 of his 873 games, alongside Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Cooper was a member of five NBA championship Lakers’ teams in the 1980’s.
Though Showtime was known for their electric fast breaks, what fans often fail to realize was that it all started on the defensive end of the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers. Without stops and the successive rebounds that followed, there would be no room for Magic Johnson to get out in the open floor and destroy teams with his stellar passing and court vision.
That said, Cooper was a staple of this Lakers defense, even winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1987, which is more impressive when you consider that he only started two games that season.
Willing defenders are something that the Lakers desperately lack this year, so it’s a nice change of pace to watch Coop highlights and hustle on defense.
Next: No. 11 Derek Fisher