This weekend, former Los Angeles Lakers reserve Michael Cooper was formally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame. He was an integral member of the Showtime period attributable to his lockdown protection, 3-point taking pictures, and skill to play backup level guard behind Magic Johnson.
Cooper’s protection actually got here in helpful in the course of the Lakers’ three matchups towards the Boston Celtics within the NBA Finals. He guarded celebrity Larry Chicken, and he guarded Chicken in addition to anybody, by Chicken’s personal admission.
Because the Lakers-Celtics rivalry is without doubt one of the most historic in sports activities and spans over half a century and three totally different eras, there’s lots of unhealthy blood between the 2 franchises. Cooper and teammate Byron Scott, nonetheless, mentioned throughout a latest episode of the “Byron Scott’s Quick Break” podcast that there was one participant on the Celtics groups of the mid-Eighties that they did not hate: Dennis Johnson.
“The one man on that crew I didn’t hate was Dennis Johnson,” Scott mentioned. “And I didn’t hate DJ as a result of he was from right here, he was a child from Los Angeles.”
“I hated him when he was in uniform, however after the season ended, I at all times had this love for DJ,” Cooper added.
“He could be the one one who, if we knocked him over, we’d at the least take into consideration getting him again,” Scott continued. “The remainder of them, we might be like, ‘Man, [expletive] You. We can’t come and decide you up. DJ was such a cool man, however he was a Celtic. So we could not stand it at the moment. »
Cooper and Scott had been additionally from the Southland. Cooper grew up in Pasadena, situated a couple of half-hour northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Scott attended Morningside Excessive Faculty in Inglewood and grew up a couple of blocks from the Discussion board, which was the house area for the Lakers from 1967 to 1999.
Dennis Johnson spent his childhood in Compton, a low-income suburb of Los Angeles, and after three years at Los Angeles Harbor School, he went to Pepperdine College in Malibu. Earlier than coming to Boston, he was an NBA Finals MVP with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, and he earned his fame as a defensive pest and big-game participant.
Like Cooper, he had a second teaching profession and was elected to the Corridor of Fame lengthy after his enjoying days ended. Sadly, he died of a coronary heart assault three years earlier than his induction in 2010.
This text initially appeared on LeBron Wire: The One Celtics Participant Bryon Scott and Michael Cooper Did not Hate
