Los Angeles Lakers great and Hall of Famer Michael Cooper has recently criticized Luka Doncic’s defensive play. He called the Dallas Mavericks star guard “slow” and “lazy,” which seemingly sparked outrage on social media. NBA fans destroyed the 68-year-old over his criticism of the 25-year-old Slovenian.

In his Showtime podcast, Michael Cooper appreciated Luka Doncic’s high-scoring abilities but took a dig at his defensive efforts. He said, “Luka gives you that triple-double almost about every night, but he’s too slow for me. If he wasn’t a scorer, I would cut him.”

Cooper has been known for his defensive prowess, and the former Lakers, who played guard and forward for the Lakers in his 12-year career, added, “I give him credit for that, but to me, he’s lazy. He doesn’t hustle back on defense.”

Social Media Destroys Michael Cooper Over Luka Doncic’s Criticism

The NBA fans didn’t take the 1987 NBA Defensive Player of the Year’s criticism of Luka Doncic well and flooded social media with humorous reactions. Luka Doncic has been the second-leading playmaker in the NBA after Nikola Jokic, and fans were quick to point out such stats.

In the 2024-25 regular season, the Lakers will retire legend Michael Cooper’s No. 21 jersey on January 13 during their home game against the San Antonio Spurs. He was included in All NBA Defensive Teams eight times, including five First Team and three Second Team selections.