Los Angeles Lakers to honor "Showtime" era head coach Pat Riley with statue
Legendary head coach Pat Riley, who guided 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," owner Jeanie Buss said. "His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today."
Building upon his predecessor Jack McKinney's blueprint, Riley helped cultivate the Lakers' fast-paced offense which propelled the team to a decade of success and cemented their stars as household names.
"My dad recognized Pat's obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team," Buss said. "The style of basketball Pat and the Lakers created in the 80s 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 with announcer Chick Hearn. However, in 1979 he joined the team's coaching staff after Paul Westhead took the helm after McKinney suffered a near-fatal bicycle accident. The team defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals, starting their decade of domination and securing Riley's second ring.
Owner Jerry Buss elevated Riley to head coach after a rocky start to the 1981 season. With Riley guiding 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 posted a losing season, winning 50 games or more throughout the decade.
The franchise won four of its 17 titles during this era, including the Lakers' first championship win against their bitter rivals the Boston Celtics in 1985.
Riley earned the NBA Coach of the Year award following the 1989-90 season, his final with the Lakers. He continued his coaching career with the New York Knicks and Miami Heat, winning his final ring as a head coach in 2006.
Aside from his coaching career, Riley has been one of the league's most successful executives. He's spent nearly three decades as the Heat's president after purchasing a minority stake in 1995.
In 2010, Riley helped usher in the age of "super teams" after masterminding the acquisition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh to bolster the Heat's roster which already had franchise superstar Dwyane Wade. Dubbed the "Big Three," the Heat appeared in four consecutive Finals, winning two of them before the trio split up.
Scheduled for completion in 2016, Riley's statue will join sculptures of Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West in the Star Plaza of LA Live.
