Latest news with #MichaelCooper
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- NZ Herald
In The Zone: Smart Spaces Where A Family Can Thrive Together
Eschewing the trend of separate spaces, this Milford family home blends play, comfort and connection in every corner. Sometimes families planning a new home want to keep separate zones for adults and children, giving everyone their own space. That wasn't the brief for this family home in the North Shore suburb of Milford, says Michael Cooper, of Michael Cooper Architects. It was exactly the opposite. 'Their requirements were for an open-plan layout that created connectivity for the family and a strong emphasis for outdoor living,' he says. 'Their vision was to create inviting spaces where family could gather and enjoy time together.' The design needed to reflect their lifestyle but also have areas for relaxation and quiet times. Modern living was a key consideration. They wanted a contemporary luxury family home that combined sleek finishes with comfortable and functional living spaces. 'Outdoor living was particularly important to the clients,' says Cooper. They wanted a vibrant space, including a pool, gardens, a cosy fireplace and a golf putting green for family fun. 'This emphasis on outdoor leisure drove many design decisions and led to the concept of blending indoor and outdoor areas,' he says. His design used glass sliding doors to create a transition between the two spaces and flood the indoor living areas with natural light. This created a real sense of space throughout the ground floor with its high ceilings. The façade is striking. The exterior of the home features formed concrete walls contrasted with Abodo cladding, which sets the scene for the luxurious and functional features when you enter the front door. The owners wanted sustainable living and solar panels for energy efficiency, all within easy walking distance of Milford village.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
How calf and cull cow value matter just as much as milk yield for this 120-cow Kerry dairy farmer
Michael Cooper has expanded his enterprise by buying three blocks of land, building new sheds and a parlour, and importing Fleckviehs – after discovering the breed on YouTube while waiting on a cow to calve Michael Cooper's approach to dairy farming goes beyond litres of milk in the tank. For him, breeding high-quality calves that command premium prices and securing strong cull cow prices are equally important. Farming full-time for nearly 30 years since taking over from his late father at the age of 18 Michael has expanded the enterprise from 90 British Friesian and Holstein cows on 75ac to 120 predominantly Fleckvieh cows on a 200ac grazing platform.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Magic, at 6'9", had a hard time guarding little quick guards" - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reveals how the Lakers always had Magic Johnson's back
"Magic, at 6'9", had a hard time guarding little quick guards" - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reveals how the Lakers always had Magic Johnson's back originally appeared on Basketball Network. When discussing the iconic Showtime Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s, the most common sentiment revolves around their selfless, pass-first point guard, Magic Johnson. It is often assumed that despite having elite scoring ability, the three-time MVP constantly prioritized setting up his teammates, helping them reach their peak form. Advertisement But as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once pointed out, this dynamic wasn't just about Magic elevating others; instead, it was a two-way street wherein the rest of the players went above and beyond to protect Magic's legacy as arguably the greatest PG. Kareem on how the Lakers helped their superstar point guard Throughout Magic's time orchestrating the Lakers' offense, he evidently made the game easy for several teammates: such as Kareem being able to average over 21 points per game until the age of 38, James Worthy earned his first All-NBA selection, Michael Cooper registered a scoring average in double digits twice and Byron Scott attained his career-scoring high of 21.7 points per game. While it's easy to assume Magic was the engine powering the others, The Cap was quick to dispel this notion. On Michael Cooper's podcast, the six-time MVP emphasized that the other Lakers embraced Magic's style and made sure to consistently score points to make his playmaking count. Ultimately, that is what made Johnson's passing such an elite weapon. Advertisement Furthermore, Kareem also shed light on how others also worked twice as hard on the defensive end to make up for Johnson's shortcomings, only so that the latter doesn't turn into a liability on the backend. "His job is to get… He saw his purpose was to allow us to score (points) and facilitate that. He wanted us to shine because if we shone, he shone. So, it was back and forth. You know, Magic, at 6'9", had a hard time guarding little quick guards. He had to play the point, so we had to help him on that issue, but it never ended up being a problem,"Abdul-Jabbar explained to Cooper. "We just made the adjustments we needed to make to complement each other and just took it from there… Yeah at 6'9", there was nobody who was going to push him out of the way… he could've played Power Forward if he wanted to," Kareem added. Related: Tracy McGrady believes he was never put in the situation to win a ring: "Replace me with Kobe with Shaq... You don't think I can carry the Lakers to a championship?" Players on great teams need to fill in each other's voids This is how dynasties are built - by players filling in each other's gaps and fully embracing one another's strengths. The Lakers understood that Magic's supreme skill was his vision and passing, and they leaned into it. In return, they did the dirty work, played defense, and elevated their games offensively so that Magic's strengths could translate into team victories. Advertisement That being said, perhaps that mutual understanding and unspoken sacrifice is precisely what made the Purple and Gold the greatest team of the 1980s - no egos, no imposition, just trust, hustle and chemistry. That is exactly what modern-day teams also need to do if they don't just want to attain a championship and be a one-season wonder; instead, they should be focused on building a dynasty like the Showtime Lakers. Related: Magic explains why winning a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics means more than NBA or NCAA titles: "I finally got the chance to play with Michael and Larry" This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
"Magic was the greatest team defensive player" - Michael Cooper debunked the notion that Magic Johnson was a defensive liability
"Magic was the greatest team defensive player" - Michael Cooper debunked the notion that Magic Johnson was a defensive liability originally appeared on Basketball Network. Magic Johnson is still at the top of most people's all-time point guard lists. The few who are hesitant to give him that crown point to, among other things, his defensive deficiencies, especially for a guy of his size. Advertisement The 6'9" legend never earned a single All-Defensive Team selection. Meanwhile, his arch-rival Larry Bird, who also wasn't perceived as a great defender, did it three times. Some would even go so far as to say that Johnson was a defensive liability for the iconic "Showtime" Los Angeles Lakers. However, his longtime teammate Michael Cooper refuted those claims — and then some. Michael Cooper on Magic's defensive impact The 1980s Lakers were loaded with defensive talent. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar led the league in blocks on four occasions, Cooper won the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year, Byron Scott was a great perimeter defender and so was Jamaal Walkies, who earned two All-defensive Team selections. Advertisement Johnson, for all his greatness, was never on their level — or that's how most fans feel about him. But Coop explained that while the legendary point guard was never a lockdown defender, head coach Pat Riley turned him into a key piece of the Lakers team defense. "Magic was okay one-on-one, but he wasn't going to stop you if you give him a couple of shakes. But this was the uniqueness and creativity brilliance of Pat Riley — we'll put Magic on just an average player… in the NBA in the '80s, championships were won from the inside-out. You always had the get the ball inside, the ball had to touch the paint," Cooper explained on his podcast. "For us, Magic was the greatest team defensive player, because he was 6'9", he was long, big, was strong too, he had quick hands. So, Magic was the best double team. He was always like, 'Hey, C, force it this way, I'll be there with you.'... Magic was never ever, never-ever, not there," he added. Advertisement Related: When Rick Fox turned down a $33 million deal from Boston only to take a million from the Lakers: "I bet on myself" Magic Johnson was no defensive slouch People expected Magic to dominate both ends of the floor, especially during an era of rugged physicality. But Riley was well aware of his deficiencies—switching wasn't as used as it is today, so he had trouble keeping up with smaller, quicker point guards. That's why he made sure his superstar found his place in the team's defensive context, offering help defense, making smart reads and using his high basketball IQ to break plays before they developed. Today's defensive schemes are much more nuanced. That's why teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, despite Giannis Antetokounmpo being their best defender, often don't put him on the opposing team's best player, allowing him to control the weak side, help and contest shots in the paint. The same goes for Gregg Popovich and Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio. Advertisement Riley knew that when very few did. So, while some might call out Cooper for his bias when praising Johnson's impact on the Lakers' defensive end — the two won five championships together — this might help change the perception of the legendary point guard being a liability on that end of the floor. Related: "Earvin and I came in the league in 1980 and the league wasn't really healthy" - Larry Bird on why he and Magic Johnson will always be in a different category This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
19-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Michael Cooper on how Showtime Lakers of the 1980s were a 'super team'
Michael Cooper on how Showtime Lakers of the 1980s were a 'super team' In the modern era of the NBA, there has been lots of talk about so-called "super teams." This talk started in earnest when LeBron James took his talents to the Miami Heat and brought Chris Bosh with him to team up with Dwyane Wade in 2010. For three seasons prior to that, the Boston Celtics had what some also consider a "super team" that consisted of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, although none of them made their way to Boston via free agency. If one wants to expand the definition of what could be considered a "super team," the Los Angeles Lakers had the first one. Throughout the 1960s, they had guard Jerry West and forward Elgin Baylor, and in 1968, they traded for Wilt Chamberlain. That trio wasn't extremely successful —the Lakers lost twice in the NBA Finals in their first two seasons with the three Hall of Famers, and they only won it all in 1972 after Baylor retired early that season. Of course, years later, they won five world titles in the 1980s with a galaxy of stars and difference-makers. One of them was Michael Cooper, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year. In an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, he said that those Lakers teams would be considered a "super team" by modern standards. "I think that whole era in the 80's we won," Cooper said. "We went to the NBA Finals 9 times. People don't understand that — from 1980 to 1991, we went to the Finals nine times. And we won it five times. And we went through a lot of tough, talented teams. You look at it for us, we had the Seattle Supersonics when they won the championship in '79. We dethroned them in 1980. You had George 'Iceman' Gervin and the A-Train (Artis Gilmore), you had Portland the team that they had up there with Mychal Thompson and Clyde Drexler; you had the Utah Jazz with Karl Malone and John Stockton just to name a few, ok? Then you look at the East. You had Detroit. You had Boston. You had the Sixers (Philadelphia 76ers). You had Cleveland. You had Atlanta with Dominique [Wilkins] and the group that he had. So we went through some very good teams, you know? Fortunately, we only had to play one of the East teams one time for the championship but the things that we did and we were able to do throughout the 80's, I would call us a super team for sure." Those Lakers teams were led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, both of whom are universally considered two of the five to 10 greatest players in basketball history. For most of the era, they also had forward James Worthy, a Hall of Famer who was named the finals MVP in 1988. Los Angeles also had Hall of Famers in forward Jamaal Wilkes and Bob McAdoo during the early-to-mid 1980s. Cooper identified one big difference between his Lakers teams and James' Heat squads. "But I think the difference between our team and any other team — and the Miami team, I'm not saying that they weren't a great team because LeBron and Wade and Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) there that damn sure was a super team but, we RAN! And we ran consistently and we practiced to run so, we may have a lull of two or three minutes in the game but for 46 minutes, we're gonna run you to death! [laughs] We're gonna get up and down the floor, we're gonna play defense — even though people don't see us because when you talk about Showtime Lakers, you talk about Magic's no-look passes, Worthy swooping to the hoop, a Coop-A-Loop, Kareem's skyhook, Magic's drive… but you didn't see us as a defensive team but, we were a very VERY good defensive team and that's why it enabled us to be in so many games as we did. But you know what? We were gonna run you. We were gonna push tempo. Magic was the best at this all the time. Even if you score, if you score we're coming back at you and probably most of the time and I would say eight out 10 times, we were scoring in four seconds back at you. So we would always catch you off guard because not only were we going to run you and get back on defense but now we're gonna get up on you and pressure you full court. And if you're a running team, it's gonna take its toll somewhere along the line and if you're a walking team or a halfcourt team — with us scoring a quick 8-10 points that changes your style of play. You gotta run to get back in the game." In four seasons with Miami, James won two championships in 2012 and 2013. At times, especially during the 2012-13 campaign, Miami looked incredible, but most would consider the Showtime Lakers to be on another level entirely.
