Weeks after Heat dedicated court to Pat Riley, Lakers announce plans for Riley statue
Just a few weeks after the Miami Heat dedicated its home court to Pat Riley, he learned that he will also be honored on the West Coast for his work with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers announced Monday that they have commissioned a statue of Riley to go up outside Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Riley’s statue is expected to be completed in 2026, with the Lakers set to announce the official unveiling date at a later time.
Riley will be the eighth Lakers legend to be commemorated with a statue outside their home arena, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today. My dad recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team. 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.”
Riley, 79, won six NBA championships with the Lakers — four as the head coach (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), one as an assistant coach (1980) and one as a player (1972).
According to a press release issued by the Lakers to announce the news, Buss told Riley about the statue on Monday during a video call alongside Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, Johnson, A.C. Green, Kurt Rambis, James Worthy, Vlade Divac, Karen West and Chris Riley.
Riley, who is currently the Heat’s president, is in his 30th season with the Heat after joining the organization in 1995.
During Riley’s first 29 seasons with the Heat, Miami compiled a 1,316-995 (.569) record for the best record in the Eastern Conference in that span and the second best in the NBA. During that time, the Heat also made 23 postseason appearances and captured 16 division titles (the most in the NBA during that span) while making seven trips to the NBA Finals and winning its first three NBA championships (2006, 2012 and 2013).
Riley was the head coach and team president for the Heat’s first NBA championship in 2006 before relinquishing those duties to current Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra in 2008. Riley was solely the team president for the Heat’s last two titles in 2012 and 2013.
When including Riley’s time with the Lakers and New York Knicks, Riley ranks fifth on the NBA’s all-time wins list for head coaches. He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a head coach in 2008 and was recognized as one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history in 2022.
One day, the Heat could also honor Riley with a statue outside its home arena. The Heat revealed its first statue outside Kaseya Center of Dwyane Wade earlier this season on Oct. 27 just days after unveiling “Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center” during the season opener.
“I’m really glad to hear that the Lakers are doing this,” Spoelstra said Monday. “It’s going to be a pretty special moment.”
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 3:39 PM.
