Five-time NBA champion and Los Angeles Lakers great has finally fulfilled his dream of being inducted
into the Basketball Hall of Fame and having his No. 21 jersey displayed in the rafters of Crypto.com Arena after years of waiting and hoping. When the squad plays the San Antonio Spurs on January 13 of the next 2024–25 NBA season, the legendary organization is scheduled to retire his jersey.
Cooper has long been regarded as one of the greatest Lakers of all time, especially when he played with Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the Showtime era. However, he has yet to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame.Cooper only needed to receive approval to be named a Hall of Famer before Jeanie Buss and company could approve having his jersey immortalized and joining the ranks of his former teammates and other Lakers legends, such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, and even broadcaster Chick Hearn. This is because the Lakers brass has strict guidelines for retiring jerseys of former stars.
Cooper spoke about the honor and the people he wished were present on January 13 on his Showtime with Coop podcast after allowing everything to fully settle in. The event will now be officially memorialized forever at Crypto.com Arena.
“Kobe would be another one that I wish could be there because it’s kind of like he’s not here, but it’s the year 2024,” Cooper said. “That’s one of his jersey numbers, 24 and 8. I just think that’s something synonymous with the Lakers that’s happening with the young man who I had the chance to, I worked this kid out and I told everybody, Jerry and them said ‘What you think, Coop?’ I said, ‘He got it.’ So Kobe would be one that I wish that was there, I forget about him.”
In order to see if Bryant could handle playing against someone who was an elite defender in his prime with the team, then-general manager Jerry West brought in Cooper to play defense on this young kid straight out of high school. This is most famously how Bryant made his first impression on the Lakers franchise during a pre-draft workout.
The exercise regimen became a legend. After witnessing Bryant in action, West and Cooper were so impressed that they traded Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets in order to get this Philadelphia kid from Lower Merion High School.
Bryant succeeded Cooper by becoming an outstanding defender in his own right and winning five NBA championships with the Lakers. But he went a step further, assembling an amazing career that many rank among the best in league history.
NBA Player Michael Cooper’s Jersey Will Be Retired in 2024–2025
The Los Angeles Lakers have declared that on January 13, during the future 2024–25 NBA season, when the team plays Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at Crypto.com Arena, Michael Cooper’s No. 21 jersey will be retired.
The Hall of Famer will join the likes of his former Showtime Lakers teammates and other legends who have played for the organization during its illustrious history, which is a much-awaited distinction.
