Artis Wayne Cooper (November 16, 1956 – April 11, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played fourteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Coop", he played for the Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Denver Nuggets from 1978 to 1992. He was the Denver Nuggets’ all-time leader in blocks when he left the franchise in 1989. After his playing career ended, he worked as an executive with the Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings. Early life Cooper was born in Milan, Georgia, on November 16, 1956. He attended Telfair County High School in his home county. He then studied at University of New Orleans (UNO) after being scouted by its associate coach, Don Smith, who described Cooper as a "tall, skinny kid who could really shoot". He played basketball for the New Orleans Privateers from 1974 and 1978. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.1 points per game (PPG) and a team-leading 9.4 rebounds per game (RPG), to go along with a .504 field goal percentage and a .723 free throw percentage. He then bettered his PPG to 13.2 and RPG to 10.1 the following year. During his senior year in 1977–78, Cooper recorded 18.1 PPG and 12.7 RPG as the Privateers won the Sun Belt tournament championship. He also established school records of most consecutive games with double-digit rebounding totals (13) and most consecutive games with a double-double (11) that year. Cooper received two All-Sun Belt selections during his college career and was honored as Sun Belt Player of the Year as a senior. He was selected in the 2nd round of the 1978 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. Career Cooper made his NBA debut on October 14, 1978, scoring two points to go along with two rebounds against the San Diego Clippers. He played 65 games during his rookie season, averaging 4.6 PPG. After improving his PPG to 11.0 in the 1979–80 season and finishing ninth in offensive rebound percentage (12.1) in the NBA, he was traded to the Utah Jazz on September 11, 1980, in exchange for Bernard King. He was traded again less than a year later to the Dallas Mavericks, together with Allan Bristow, for Bill Robinzine. Cooper was subsequently traded for the third time in three seasons on June 28, 1982, to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Kelvin Ransey. In the 1983 NBA