Cooper is an inspiring success story. A native of Pasadena, which is just a short drive from downtown Los Angeles, he suffered a severe cut in his knee as a toddler, which required a large number of stitches. A doctor told his family he would never be able to walk.
Not only was Cooper able to walk again, but he was able to run, and he starred at Pasadena High School, then at Pasadena City College and at the University of New Mexico. Despite being very skinny (he was listed at between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7 and just 170 pounds), he was extremely driven, partly by a sense of insecurity that bordered on paranoia, and it drove him to be his very best.
The Lakers took him in the third round of the 1978 NBA Draft, and he barely survived roster cuts to become a key member of the bench. As a young player, he was an exciting lob threat, and as the decade progressed, he saw himself play a number of different roles, including backup point guard, swingman and their designated 3-point specialist.
But it was on defense where Cooper separated himself from the rest. He would guard opposing stars and superstars at several different positions, and Larry Bird, the Lakers’ biggest superstar rival back then, said Cooper was the best defender he ever faced.
He never made an All-Star team, and his overall stats (8.9 points, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game) may be dismissed as pedestrian by casual or ignorant fans, but he was very integral to L.A.’s success.
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