Michael Cooper spent the entirety of his NBA playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA championships during their Showtime era. He was an eight-time selection to the NBA All-Defensive Team and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1987. He later coached the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks to consecutive WNBA Championships in 2001 and 2002. Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Jake Uitti is a writer for publications including Interview Magazine, Vanity Fair, American Songwriter Magazine, The Washington Post, and The Seattle Times. He is the co-author of memoirs by Muggsy Bogues and Earl Cureton.