Cooper was the first African-American to be drafted by an NBA team. He was the first pick of the second round by the Boston Celtics.
He was the first African American to participate in a college basketball game south of the Mason–Dixon line. Cooper was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 9, 2019.

Cooper played four years with the Boston Celtics. He then played two seasons with the  Milwaukee/ St.Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks before ending his career as a member of the Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons.
During his NBA career, Cooper played a total of 409 games and scored 2,725 points.

After his NBA career, Cooper graduated with a Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota in 1960. He worked to improve his hometown of Pittsburgh, serving on the Pittsburgh school board.
Cooper was appointed the Director of Parks and Recreation for the city, becoming the first Black department head.