Jerry West was the first player in NBA history to lead the league in scoring and make the All-Defensive first team in the same season. Michael Jordan would’ve joined “The Logo” in that company in 1987, but Michael Cooper got in the way.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard won the 1987 Defensive Player of The Year award, which secured him a spot among the five best defenders in the league. So even though MJ made history, becoming the first player ever to record more than 200 steals and 100 blocks in the same campaign, he was left off both the first and second NBA All-Defensive teams.
“Michael Cooper is great at ball denial. But check his other stats (78 steals, 43 blocks). This league gives defensive awards on reputation. It just tees me off,” MJ told Sports Illustrated in 1987.
Coop’s response to Jordan
A year later, ahead of the Lakers’ home game against the Chicago Bulls at the sold-out Forum, Coop was asked about Jordan casting aspersions on his defensive awards.
“That’s his opinion,” Michael responded. “Everybody’s entitled to express an opinion. I know my defense is good. I don’t think steals and blocked shots are the only measures of playing defense. I’m not a starter, so I don’t play enough to accumulate those kind of stats, but I feel I’m more of a containment type player.”
The other guard position on the 1987 All-Defensive first team was occupied by Dennis Johnson, who was coming off three straight second team selections. However, despite averaging 29.6 points in six regular season games against the Boston Celtics, Mike didn’t diminish DJ as a defender.
Meanwhile, in two matchups against Cooper and the Lakers, MJ put up 44 and 33 points, but the Bulls lost both times. He also shot an inefficient 42.8 percent from the field in those games compared to his season average of 48.2 percent.
Jordan refused to give Mike credit for his defense. Coop, however, didn’t have that issue after being asked if “His Airness” is justified in thinking he should be mentioned with the league’s best defenders.
“Sure, I think he is,” the Lakers guard said. “He has the stats to back him up. But hopefully, people will see some of the subtler things that are involved in defense, things that myself and DJ (Boston’s Dennis Johnson) do, as far as containing a man.”
Jordan’s all-time great 1987-88 season
There was no containing of MJ on February 2, 1998, as he finished the game with 39 points on 14 of 26 from the field. His performance, however, didn’t result in a win, with the Lakers beating the Bulls 110-101.
Coop, hours after addressing Jordan’s slight, had seven points in only 16 minutes. Two weeks later, he picked up an ankle injury that forced him to miss 21 games.
Michael’s performance in the 1987-88 campaign still secured him an All-Defensive first team selection. Only this time, Jordan was his backcourt partner, with the Bulls superstar also winning the 1988 Defensive Player of The Year award.
MJ also joined West as the second player ever to make the All-Defensive first team while being the league’s leading scorer. However, that was only the beginning of Jordan’s unprecedented two-way dominance, as he achieved the same feat eight more times.
Coop, meanwhile, never made another All-Defensive team. However, for someone Larry Bird described as the toughest defender he ever faced, five first and three second team selections were more than enough.