Wayne Cooper

One collector is trying to find a single signature from every man who ever played for the Jazz — all 370 of them, from the 1974 New Orleans team to today. For many of them, this page is the only one on the internet. Here is Wayne Cooper: what he did on the floor, a few things most people never knew, and every card that carries his name. If you own something he signed — or you know who might — there is a note at the foot of this page.

Sun Belt Player of the Year at the University of New Orleans, Cooper reached the NBA as a Golden State second-rounder in 1978 and arrived in Utah in September 1980, traded for Bernard King. His single Jazz season was one stop in a 14-year, 984-game career built on shot-blocking — he averaged 2.9 blocks for Denver in 1985-86, left that franchise as its all-time blocks leader, and reached two NBA Finals with Portland.

Cooper moved upstairs after retiring, spending nearly two decades with the Sacramento Kings and rising to vice president of basketball operations. Married to Denise, with three daughters, he suffered from kidney disease and died on April 11, 2022, at 65.

HOW HE CAME & WENTGolden State sent him to Utah for Bernard King on September 11, 1980 — a striking swap in retrospect, given what King became. On August 20, 1981 the Jazz traded Cooper and Allan Bristow to Dallas for Bill Robinzine.

Full name

Artis Wayne Cooper

Utah Jazz tenure

1980–81

Position

Center

Born

1956, Milan, Georgia

Died

2022

Height

6′10″ (208 cm)

Weight

220 lb (100 kg)

College

New Orleans

Drafted

1978, 2nd round, Golden State