Michael Copper, former Laker and Defensive Player of the Year, had his jersey retired during the 2024-25 campaign
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful franchises in NBA history, accumulating an impressive array of accolades both individually and collectively. Some of the best players in the league have donned Los Angeles’ purple and gold jerseys. While that list includes elite offensive talent, the Lakers have also been home to some of the league’s best defenders.
Here, we take a look at the one player who was once named the Defensive Player of the Year in the entire league. It was Michael Cooper, who won the award in the 1986-87 season.
Michael Cooper – 1 time (1987)
Cooper spent his entire NBA career with the Lakers, appearing in 873 regular-season games with the franchise. Though Cooper was mostly utilized in a reserve role, that didn’t stop him from being a key piece in a Lakers organization that won plenty of titles during the 1980s.
The 6-foot-7 forward was renowned for his defensive versatility and was named to the All-NBA Defensive Team eight times during his 12-year career in the league. He earned five 1st-Team All-NBA Defense nods, and in three other seasons, he was part of the 2nd-Team All-NBA. Each of those nods came between the 1980-81 and 1987-88 campaigns. However, he stood out above all his peers in the 1986-87 season, when he was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
During that campaign, Cooper started in only two of his 82 regular-season appearances and averaged 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per contest. His defensive impact went well beyond the numbers, and he was routinely the one player in charge of slowing down the opposition’s top option. He played a prominent role as the Lakers won the NBA title that season.
Throughout his career, Cooper was voted in the Top 5 of the Defensive Player of the Year race six straight seasons between 1982-83 and 1987-88.
