Lenny Cooke

At Franklin K. Lane High School, in Brooklyn, Cooke was honored as Freshman of the Year. Cooke attended La Salle Academy in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City from 1999 to 2000, where he averaged 30 points and 15 rebounds. He earned MVP honors in the 2000 Adidas ABCD camp. He was taken in by Debbie Bortner to attend Northern Valley Regional High School located in Old Tappan, New Jersey, from 2000 to February 2002.

On March 8, 2002, he scored 21 points to help the Eastern Conference defeat the West 115–103, at the EA Sports Roundball Classic at the United Center in Chicago. At that point, he was rated #4 High School Player in the United States in the Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook.

To his surprise and disappointment, in the 2002 NBA Draft, all 29 NBA teams passed on Cooke in both rounds. Because he was not selected, Cooke became a free agent, eligible to sign with any NBA team that wanted him.

That summer, after being bypassed in the NBA Draft, he played in the Rucker Park Summer League in New York for the Terror Squad team. Later in 2002, Cooke was drafted by the Columbus Riverdragons of the NBDL. In April 2003, he tried out for the Brevard Blue Ducks of the USBL, and in May 2003 was signed by the USBL's Brooklyn Kings. In 15 games, he averaged 28.8 points and more than 9 rebounds per game.

Cooke is the subject of the 2013 documentary Lenny Cooke which documents his athletic rise, fall, and subsequent life after basketball. The film, made by the Safdie Brothers, was entered in the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.