A Los Angeles basketball legend talks to /LA about hoopin’ with Magic Johnson, the fundamental game below the rim, and coaching LA’s female pro team.

Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Andrew Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Michael Cooper is a living legend. Originally drafted to play pro ball in 1978, he is known for one of the purest and most deadly strokes ever. He helped define Los Angeles ‘Showtime’ and was part of one of the greatest dynasties in pro sports history. He earned five pro championship titles. A Defensive Player of the Year award. The respect of both fans and peers.

/LA sat down with Coop to reminisce about the early days.

/LA: Where did you grow up playing ball?
Coop: I came up in Pasadena. Our courts were Brookside Park. Mountain Park. Angeles Vista. The small rec centers.

/LA: Did you play much in Los Angeles as a kid?
Coop: Yeah. But coming into Los Angeles was like visiting a foreign country. When I’d have the opportunity to come down to the local high school in Crenshaw and other parks in LA, I was always in awe. They had great players like Raymond Lewis and Freeman Williams. The best of the best.

/LA: How did you do against LA players back then?
Coop: I held my own. Back then I was really thin, and my biggest asset was my vertical—I could jump over anybody.

/LA: Did you ever play against Raymond Lewis?
Coop: Yeah. I played against him in a pro league game. He scored 60 points on me. [laughs]

/LA: How did growing up playing ball on the Left Coast shape you as a player?
Coop: I think it did wonders for me. It was all about fast-break basketball. When you think West Coast, you think LA fast break. Magic took that to the next level when he got here—he turned it into “Showtime.”

/LA: Were you taught this style even as a young player?
Coop: We were always taught to run. Get the rebound. Take four or five seconds to make one or two passes. Then shoot the basketball.

/LA: This was different from basketball played in other parts of the country?
Coop: The East Coast style was slower. They took the ball to half court. Slowed it down. Showed their skills. We were more finesse on the West Coast. Some kids from New York or Cincinnati would come out here and call what we did “Glamour Ball.” But they were all about “Bruise Ball”—that’s what they used to call it. They would get the ball and just beat you up all the way down the court until they got into shooting range. Our job out here is to go by you, not through you.

And so it began for Michael Cooper. The simplicity of playing hard, fundamental, fast-break basketball would take him to the pros and beyond. Check back soon to hear the rest from Coop himself.