UNM and Laker great Michael Cooper a finalist to be enshrined in Basketball Hall of Fame

INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Cooper is one step from the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Cooper, a former star on the hardwood for New Mexico and later a defensive specialist on the Showtime Lakers NBA championship teams of the 1980s, was among the Hall of Fame finalists announced Friday at All-Star weekend.

Cooper played two seasons at UNM, averaging 15.6 points per game, 3.8 assists and shot 50.0% from the field. UNM honored Cooper during a Jan. 6 game at the Pit, gifting the 6-foot-7 guard/forward a jersey with his name on it.

He played 12 seasons in the NBA, from 1978 to 1990, all with the Lakers and retired with five championship rings. Though he averaged a middling 8.9 points per game in his career and mostly came off the bench, Cooper was a five-time all defensive team selection and even received MVP votes in the 1980-81 and 81-82 campaigns.

After his playing days, Cooper has had many stops, including as a head coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, Atlanta Dream, the now defunct Albuquerque Thunderbirds, the USC Trojans women’s basketball team and others.

Also among the finalists: Vince Carter, who played 22 NBA seasons, the most in league history; four-time WNBA champion Seimone Augustus; former Detroit Pistons guard and current Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups; Phoenix Suns all-time leading scorer Walter Davis; former Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan; and three nominees as contributors — former player and coach Doug Collins, Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and NBA legend Jerry West, who was enshrined as a player in 1980.

That voting takes place in the coming weeks, with the Class of 2024 set to be unveiled at the Final Four in Phoenix on April 6. The class will be enshrined on Aug. 17 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“Unbelievable,” said Carter, whose finalist nod came in his first year of eligibility. “You look in the crowd, you see Hall of Famers, and the opportunity … I mean, you can’t beat that. You can’t beat that. It’s a proud moment.”

Other finalists include Charles Smith, the winningest high school head coach in Louisiana history; former Kansas coach Marian Washington; Australian guard Michele Timms; three-time NAIA champion at Tennessee A&I Dick Barnett; and six-time AAU champion coach Harley Redin.

Washington, Redin and Timms are all already in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Timms is also a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame.

Among those who did not make the cut this year — Lou Henson, who coached New Mexico State and Illinois to Final Fours; Penny Hardaway; and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team dubbed the “Redeem Team” after winning gold in Beijing four years after the Americans finished third at the Athens Games.