Legendary head coach Pat Riley, who led the “Showtime” Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, will be honored with a statue outside the team’s Crypto.com Arena.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” said owner Jeanie Buss. “His professionalism, dedication to his craft and match preparation paved the way for the coaching we see in the league today.”
Building on the blueprint of his predecessor Jack McKinney, Riley helped cultivate the Lakers’ fast-paced offense, which carried the team to a decade of success and turned their stars into household names.
“My father recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and bring them together into a championship team,” Buss said. “The style of basketball that Pat and the Lakers created in the 1980s is still the blueprint for the organization today: an entertaining and winning team.”
After winning a championship with the Lakers in 1972, Riley returned to the Purple and Gold five years later as a radio play-by-play commentator for announcer Chick Hearn. However, in 1979 he joined the team’s coaching staff after Paul Westhead took over after McKinney suffered a near-fatal bicycle accident. The team defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals, beginning their decade of dominance and securing Riley’s second ring.
Owner Jerry Buss elevated Riley to head coach after a rough start to the 1981 season. While Riley mentored Hall of Fame players such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy, the Lakers went to the playoffs every year between 1981 and 1990 and never recorded a losing season, winning 50 games or more during the decade.
The franchise won four of seventeen titles during this period, including the Lakers’ first championship victory against their bitter rivals, the Boston Celtics in 1985.
Riley earned the NBA Coach of the Year award after the 1989-90 season, his finals with the Lakers. He continued his coaching career with the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, winning his last ring as a head coach in 2006.
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In addition to his coaching career, Riley was one of the league’s most successful managers. He served as president of the Heat for nearly three decades after acquiring a minority stake in 1995.
In 2010, Riley helped usher in the era of “superteams” after masterminding the acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh to bolster the Heat’s roster, which already had franchise superstar Dwyane Wade. The Heat, sometimes referred to as the “Big Three”, appeared in four consecutive finals, winning two before the trio split.
Scheduled for completion in 2016, Riley’s statue will join the sculptures of Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West in LA Live’s Star Plaza.
