The Showtime Lakers of the 1980s were a cohesive unit, and each member of the team knew and accepted their role.
Magic Johnson was the orchestrator and leader, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the foundation and backbone on both ends, James Worthy was a go-to guy in the low post and in transition and Byron Scott was their designated 3-point shooter.
Michael Cooper had several different roles for L.A., and he often shifted back and forth between them depending on what the team needed, but one thing was constant: He was their defensive stopper.
He would guard a wide range of stars such as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas and do a good job of containing them and making them work for their points.
In 1987, Cooper was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year, and in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals versus the Seattle SuperSonics, he showed why.
The Lakers led the series 2-0 and looked to pull away, but the Sonics stuck with them step by step.
Down by three with less than a minute left, Seattle attempted to run Dale Ellis, who was a great outside shooter, around a screen, but Cooper fought through the screen and blocked Ellis’ shot attempt, allowing L.A. to hold on for the win.
The Lakers then went on to finish off Seattle in a four-game sweep to advance to the NBA Finals, where they handled the Boston Celtics in six games for their fourth would championship of the decade.
