Photo: Neon Tommy / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Michael Cooper is a basketball player, basketball coach and screenwriter, born on April 15, 1956 in Los Angeles, California, United States. That puts Michael Cooper at 70 years old in 2026. Schooling on record includes Pasadena High School and University of New Mexico. Recorded honors include WNBA Coach of the Year Award, NBA All-Defensive Team (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988), J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1986) and 1 more. The listed height is 196 cm.
My Take
Michael Cooper is my kind of legend, the player who wins by doing the work nobody puts on a highlight reel. While the Showtime Lakers dazzled, Coop quietly erased the other team's best perimeter threat, collecting a Defensive Player of the Year award and a stack of All-Defensive honors that mean more to me than any scoring title. Five championships beside Magic Johnson, then a Coach of the Year run in the WNBA, prove his basketball mind ran as deep as his defense. I love writing about figures like him because defense is devotion, and his career is a quiet masterclass in it.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Michael Cooper
- Name (Japanese)
- マイケル・クーパー
- Reading
- まいける・くーぱー
- Born
- April 15, 1956 (age 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Monkey
- Origin
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Height
- 196 cm
- Occupation
- basketball player / basketball coach / screenwriter
2. Background
- High school
- Pasadena High School
- University
- University of New Mexico
Awards & achievements
- WNBA Coach of the Year Award
- 1982 NBA All-Defensive Team
- 1984 NBA All-Defensive Team
- 1985 NBA All-Defensive Team
- 1986 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award
- 1987 NBA All-Defensive Team
- 1987 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
- 1988 NBA All-Defensive Team
3. Links
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-20
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Michael Cooper born?
Born April 15, 1956 (age 70).
Where is Michael Cooper from?
Michael Cooper is from Los Angeles, California, United States.
What does Michael Cooper do?
Michael Cooper works as basketball player, basketball coach, screenwriter.
How tall is Michael Cooper?
Michael Cooper is 196 cm.
Basketball player — see all → · Basketball coach — see all → · More people from the United States →