Think of the Showtime Lakers and who comes to mind? Magic Johnson, of course. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook. Two franchise icons whose statues stand in front of the central arena of the Lakers.
However, you also can’t imagine Showtime without the tousled hair and fine Italian suit of Pat Riley on the sidelines – the mastermind behind it all. Now he will also have a statue outside of Crypto.com, the Lakers announced.
One of the greatest coaches of all time – The Lakers are proud to announce that Pat Riley’s legacy will be cemented and his statue will find a home on Star Plaza. pic.twitter.com/bHkjarx8CV
– Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 18, 2024
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” Lakers co-owner and governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see throughout the league today. My father recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and assemble them into a championship team. Pat’s style of basketball and the Lakers created in the ’80s are still the blueprint for the organization today: an entertaining and winning team.”
Riley won six titles overall with the Lakers. The first was as a Lakers player in 1972, that of the franchise
first title in Los Angeles. He was a Lakers assistant coach with the 1980 championship team that we think of as the start of the Showtime era, then he took over as head coach during the 1981 season, refined the team’s fast-paced style of play, and overall was the team head coach for nine seasons, winning four more titles and having a .733 regular season winning percentage.
There is no timeline yet, but this will be revealed in 2026, according to the team. Riley will join Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, legendary broadcaster Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West as Lakers with statues outside the arena.
Riley was recently honored by the Miami Heat – a team he first coached in 1995 and has been in the front office with the team since his coaching days ended – by them naming the court after him (his signature appears on the court).
“This is beyond even my imagination a reward for a man’s life’s work,” an emotional Riley said that night. “We are huge dreamers and Micky [Arinson, the Heat owner] did mine It wasn’t something I wanted or intended, but I’ll take it.”
He is
will also take the statue of that Laker.
