He played college basketball for the Winthrop Eagles, where he was named the 2018 Big South Conference Player of the Year.

In 2022, he helped the Sydney Kings win the NBL championship while earning grand final MVP honours.

[4] The following year, he moved to Canberra and played for the BA Centre of Excellence in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).

[11] Cooks initially signed with French team SIG Strasbourg for the 2019–20 season,[13] but left due to injury.

[19] He helped the Kings win the 2022 NBL championship while earning Grand Final MVP honours.

[24] On 29 January 2023, he had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a 111–106 win over the South East Melbourne Phoenix, marking the league's first triple-double since 2021 and the first from a Sydney player since Dontaye Draper in 2008.

[29] He made his NBA debut the next day, recording two rebounds in five and a half minutes against the Sacramento Kings.

[30] In the Wizards' final game of the season on 9 April, he recorded 10 points and 14 rebounds in 35 minutes as a starter against the Houston Rockets.

[36] On 11 February 2025, the NBL announced a mandatory provisional suspension had been imposed on Cooks for an alleged doping violation.

[38] In early August 2019, Cooks made the final cut for Australia's 2019 FIBA World Cup roster.