Michael Cooper spent his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers as a defense-minded guard who always focused on helping his Showtime teammates to be stars

Former Laker Michael Cooper cherishes his jersey retirement ceremony more than his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Of all the Lakers retired jerseys hanging in the rafters at the Crypto.Com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, Michael Cooper's number 21, raised into Purple and Gold immortality last Monday night is the most improbable.