Los Angeles Lakers swingman Michael Cooper, an eight-time All-Defensive Team selection, thinks two of his Showtime-era Lakers teammates and one more modern Los Angeles star should be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Cooper, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who won five championships with the Purple and Gold from 1978-1990, recently chatted with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on Scoop B Radio about a variety of intriguing topics, including the 2024 Hall of Fame induction class.
The 1987 Defensive Player of the Year, a five-time champion with Los Angeles, believes the Lakers' fellow champions are worthy of consideration for Springfield.
“I think (former Lakers starting shooting guard) Byron Scott and (former All-Star Lakers combo guard) Norm Nixon are definitely on the list. Hopefully in the future I'll be on the list. (Former Lakers stretch four) Robert Horry is also on the list. I've found that the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame isn't about what you did on the court, it's about how much you contributed to the game. It's about giving back to the game in whatever way you can.”
Horry, who won three championships with Los Angeles from 2000-02 and currently serves as a studio analyst for the Lakers' home cable network, Spectrum SportsNet, also played a key role in floor-spacing for four other championship teams, including the 1994-95 Houston Rockets and the 2005 and 2007 San Antonio Spurs.
“It just took time,” Cooper, 68, said of Holley's delayed induction. “You have to be nominated to be inducted, and then once you're inducted, hopefully you'll be selected,” Cooper said of Holley.
In 873 regular season games with the Lakers, Cooper averaged 8.9 points, 46.9 percent shooting from the field, 83.3 percent free throw shooting, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.6 assists.
During his time with the Lakers, Cooper finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting three times and finished in the top 24 in MVP voting twice.
Nixon is the only player on his list to make an All-Star team, but Scott was more important overall to the Lakers' title-winning team. Horry is a unique player to consider because of the trophies he won as a role player in each situation, but he was a role player, not a star.
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