The Los Angeles Lakers have two major inductees in the 2024 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class. One is perhaps the most influential person in the franchise’s history in former player and general manager Jerry West and the other is one of the staples of the Showtime era in Michael Cooper.
West has already been inducted into the Hall of Fame as a player and as a part of the 1980 United States Men’s Olympic basketball team. This will be his third induction, recognizing his incredible work as an exeuctive. West was one of the architects of the Showtime era and was also directly responsible for L.A.’s follow-up dynasty with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
Cooper was a defensive stalwart for the Showtime teams, winning all five titles of the era while taking home a Defensive Player of the Year award and eight All-Defense selections despite never being a regular starter for the Lakers.
The Class of 2024, including both Cooper and West, will be inducted this Sunday, October 13 at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The program will be aired exclusively on NBA TV at 3 p.m. PT.
There are a total of 13 inductees including West and Cooper. The other 11 inductees are Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Walter Davis, Bo Ryan, Charles Smith, Seimone Augustus, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Doug Collins and Herb Simon.
As usual, it’s a star-studded group featuring several other international superstars and college coaches.
Per tradition, each inductee will have someone present them on stage and Cooper has fellow Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Pat Riley and Lisa Leslie. West will have a posthumous induction including Abdul-Jabbar, Bob McAdoo, Johnson, Worthy, Riley, Jamaal Wilkes, Shaquille O’Neal, Vlade Divac, Del Harris, Pau Gasol and Cooper.
With Cooper’s upcoming induction to the Hall of Fame, the Lakers will have 35 members who have earned the prestigious honor.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar happy for Lakers teammate Michael Cooper
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently spoke on how happy he is to see his former Lakers teammate Michael Cooper make the Basketball Hall of Fame, which he believes was long overdue.
“Finally! He did a lot of things for us at crucial times. It wasn’t always like that, but he was always ready when we needed him. He was our defensive stopper… Whatever we needed from him, he tried to give it to us. So I’m happy that he’s gonna get that recognition. He deserves it.”
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