“Thrilled” Magic Johnson Can’t Contain His Excitement as “Greatest Defensive” Player He’s Ever Seen Gets Elected for Ultimate Honor

The entire attention was on Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, and Jerry West for their induction into Basketball Heaven; the Hall of Fame. Now, we have another addition to the list, and it is one of the finest defenders of the Showtime Lakers, who won 5 championships in 8 years in the 80s. Magic Johnson took the honor of making this unexpected announcement on Instagram. 

The Los Angeles Lakers icon shared, “I don’t even know where to start! I tried to wait until Saturday…but I just can’t hold the news. I’m so so thrilled that my Showtime running mate and one of my best friends Michael Cooper has been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame!!” Cooper was previously a Hall of Fame finalist in 2022. He is a 5x NBA champion and has eight All-Defensive team selections. However, he couldn’t get the ultimate honor previously.

2 years later, the 67-year-old has finally made it to the Naismith memorial, and Johnson couldn’t control his happiness. Johnson also shared why his best friend deserved this, “Coop is the greatest defensive player I’ve ever seen in the NBA – and I would know because I went up against him every single day in practice! His play on the offensive end was strong too. He was an excellent point guard and 3-point shooting threat.” Well, there goes another Laker into the Hall of Fame! 

Magic could not stop boasting about his Showtime teammate. His huge essay included a lot of achievements of Cooper that went a bit unnoticed, and here is a unique one below. 

Magic Johnson throws Michael Cooper’s infamous record in the spotlight, which Stephen Curry broke in 2015

Michael Cooper was not just useful for defense. As Johnson said, he was a threat from the three-point line too. Three-point shooting was a skill that many did not master in the 1980s. It was an aspect that was changed in the modern NBA. However, in the 80s, you’d hardly see guards pull up outside the line. But Cooper was different. He set the record for the most three-pointers made in an NBA Finals game, which was later broken by Stephen Curry in 2015. 

Read more: “They Don’t Appreciate Defense Unless You’re Dennis Rodman”: 7x NBA Champ Urges Lakers to Retire 2x DPOY’s Jersey Before LeBron James’

Johnson shared in the captions, “A lot of people may not know that he once held the record for the most 3-pointers in an NBA Finals game (with 6) before Steph Curry came along.” 36 years ago in the 1987 Finals against the Boston Celtics, Cooper hit 6 three-pointers for the Lakers. Later in 2015, Curry hit 7 three-pointers in game 3 of the 2015 Finals against the Cavaliers to beat that record. Well, that shows how crucial Cooper was for the Lakers back then. 

Read more: Lakers Legend Michael Cooper Has Neither LeBron James nor Michael Jordan as the NBA GOAT