Michael Jordan loved to prove he was better than his rivals and was not averse to trash talk either. When MJ lost, he would make it known that he was unhappy. In 1987, Jordan lost the Defensive Player of the Year award to Los Angeles Lakers legend Michael Cooper. So, he naturally had some things to say about it, and they were obviously directed at the person who beat him.
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Cooper recently appeared as a guest on All The Smoke podcast to discuss various aspects of his career. At one point in the conversation, co-hosts Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes read out a 1987 quote from Jordan, where the Bulls legend stated that Cooper won the Defensive Player of the Year award due to his reputation and not stats.
“Michael Cooper is great at ball denial. But check his other stats. This league gives defensive awards on reputation. It just tees me off,” Jordan had told Sports Illustrated. Cooper was stunned by the quote, as he had never heard about it before. But he had a very chill response, probably because it was Mike.
“You know what? If that was any other Michael I would say something but that’s MJ. So I’m going to leave that alone,” Cooper said with a smile.
The Lakers legend then broke down the differences between his game and MJ’s. The 68-year-old admitted that Jordan “was a force on his own” as a defender, and was more into guarding lanes and going for steals. On the other hand, Cooper was a great denier.
“Mike wasn’t a denier and he wasn’t all that,” Cooper said. “But sh*t as great as he became on that offensive end he had to conserve some energy. I wasn’t a great offensive scorer so I had to use all my energy on the defensive end.”
Cooper’s hard play as a defender landed him in the Hall of Fame. In that 1987 DPOY season, he racked up 43 steals and 78 blocks. Jordan’s season was better statistically due to his offensive numbers, but some of his defensive stats were said to have been inflated at home.
Regardless, MJ won the award the following season after securing a tremendous 259 steals and 131 blocks.
Cooper says guarding Jordan “electrified intensity inside you”
Cooper earned his defensive accolades from playing against elite scorers in the NBA — Jordan included. Back in 1987, he broke down what it was like to guard Jordan, who was only 24 at the time.
“When people say I do a good job on Michael, or that so-and-so did the job, that’s wrong. There’s no way I stop him. I need the whole team. As soon as he touches the ball, he electrifies the intensity inside you,” Cooper said in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
Cooper later referred to the assignment as an “alarm going off” due to the uncertainty of Jordan’s maneuvers.
“He goes right, left, over you, around and under you. He twists, he turns. And you know he’s going to get the shot off. You just don’t know when and how. That’s the most devastating thing psychologically to a defender,” he added.
In The Last Dance documentary, which chronicled the Bulls dynasty in the ’90s, MJ elaborated on the mental pressure he would enforce upon opponents.
The competitiveness added another dimension to Jordan’s game. While, like Cooper said, his prowess and performance on both sides of the ball, were nearly flawless in his legendary career.
