When it comes to thinking about the gold standard of NBA coaches, not many names come to mind other than Pat Riley. Despite winning championships five times as a head coach, twice as an executive, twice as a player and once as an assistant coach, his titles paint only a part of the picture of his career with the Miami Heat, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers.
Appropriately, Showtime recently unveiled a statue commemorating his legacy, and Riley was asked a simple question about current NBA coaches.
According to a post on And well, as far as that reaction is concerned, it’s no surprise.
Riley, now 80 and still serving as president of the Miami Heat, became the first coach in Los Angeles Lakers history to receive the statue, placing him alongside names like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West and Chick Hearn. With the Lakers, Riley reached seven NBA Finals during his nine-season tenure from 1981 to 1990.
However, this is only a small part of his legacy. In his career as a player, assistant coach, head coach and executive, he has nine championship rings, including a 1972 title as a Lakers player, multiple titles as an architect of Showtime, the Miami Heat’s successful 2006 championship as a head coach, and executive titles in 2012 and 2013 during Miami’s Big Three era. He remains the first major North American sports figure to win championships in all four of these roles.
A member of the Hall of Fame since 2008, Riley is often regarded as “The Godfather” of the NBA, and there was never any doubt that he would still wear an Armani suit if he coached in the world’s best basketball league.
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