?They Don?t Appreciate Defense Unless You?re Dennis Rodman?: 7x NBA Champ Urges Lakers to Retire 2x DPOY?s Jersey Before LeBron James?

The legacy of certain NBA players transcends the eras they represent, and LeBron James is definitely one name on the list. The Los Angeles Lakers star helped the franchise win a championship back in 2020, further proving his greatness. With the talks of his jersey retirement, a 7-time NBA champion urged the management to retire one of their former player’s jerseys before him.

The champ backed the former Laker with two Defensive Player of the Year awards while explaining his stance. He also pointed out the flaws in judgment using Dennis Rodman as an example.

Who should come before LeBron James?

In a?Big Shot Bob Podcast,?Robert Horry talked about Jeanie Buss’ reported comments on retiring the 4-time NBA champion’s jersey. He stated that the 2-time DPOY Michael Cooper’s jersey retirement should get the preference over LeBron. “Nobody should go before him,”?the 7-time NBA champion said to justify his belief.

The 53-year-old highlighted Cooper’s defensive prowess by putting him ahead of one of the best of all time, Magic Johnson, in that category. “He always guarded the people that Magic couldn?t,”?he mentioned in the discussion. He eventually pointed out how underrated of a contributor Michae was on the court.

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The 5-time champion was a by-the-book defender of the game of basketball. But Robert underlined that as the reason behind Cooper being underappreciated. “They don?t appreciate defense unless you?re Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman,”?the former Lakers star said to showcase the judgmental errors the teams and the fans make. This encourages us to revisit one thing.

The legacy of Michael Cooper

Coming into the draft, Cooper was not deemed a top prospect. He had to establish himself after joining the team as 60th overall pick in 1978. What followed was history.

In his 12 seasons with the team, he was integral to its success. A brilliant one-on-one defender with accolades to show for him. He became part of the NBA All-Defensive First Team five times.

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So, Horry definitely knew what he was talking about. After winning seven rings with three different teams, he paid his tribute to an all-time great. Maybe it’s about time the Lakers management listens to him.