14-Year NBA Veteran Wayne Cooper Dies at 65

Longtime NBA center Wayne Cooper died on Monday, the Nuggets announced on social media. He was 65.

“We are saddened to hear of the passing of a great Nugget, teammate, and person, Wayne Cooper,” the franchise wrote in a statement. “He will be sorely missed and our thoughts are with his family at this time.”

Cooper played for 14 seasons in the NBA, beginning in 1978 when he was selected by the Warriors in the second round of the draft. A 6'10" center out of New Orleans, he played for Golden State for two years before a pair of one-season stints with Utah and Dallas. 

In 1982, Cooper joined the Trail Blazers and made the playoffs during his first season with Portland. After one more year with the team, he landed on the Nuggets, where he had the most productive stint of his career.

In five seasons with Denver, Cooper averaged 9.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. He once blocked a career-high nine shots in a single game against the Clippers and helped the Nuggets reach at least the Western Conference semifinals on three separate occasions.

Cooper returned to Portland for the final three seasons of his career, appearing in two NBA Finals with the Trail Blazers before retiring in 1992. Over the course of his 14 years in the NBA, he averaged 7.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 in 984 total games.

At the time of his retirement, Cooper was Denver’s all-time leader in blocks. Today, he remains third in franchise history, trailing only Dikembe Mutombo and Marcus Camby.

After his playing career ended, Cooper became a member of the Kings front office, serving as their vice president of basketball operations from 1996 to 2013.