Michael Cooper is a former professional basketball player and coach. He played for the New Mexico Lobos for two seasons, 1976–78,[3] and was named first team All-Western Athletic Conference. In his senior season the Lobos won the WAC title.
Cooper's previous coaching jobs include leading the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to two championships and the Albuquerque Thunderbirds to one NBA G League title. A former player in the NBA, Cooper won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era. The fans would often chant his name when he had the ball, a definite crowd-favorite for Lakers fans in the 80’s.
In 2018, Cooper signed on to coach 3's Company of the Big3 League. As of 2021, Cooper is the boys varsity coach at Chadwick School.