{"id":498506,"date":"2026-02-23T08:51:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498506\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T08:51:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T08:51:09","slug":"lakers-unveil-statue-of-legendary-former-coach-pat-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498506\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers unveil statue of legendary former coach Pat Riley"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dave McMenaminFeb 23, 2026, 12:55 PM<\/p>\n

Close<\/a>Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
\nCovered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.<\/p>\n

Multiple Authors<\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES — Legendary Lakers<\/a> coach Pat Riley was honored with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday and the nearly 8-foot tall, 510-pound bronze rendering features the famously stylish Riley in his preferred attire: a Giorgio Armani suit.<\/p>\n

The Hall of Fame coach, who is currently the Miami Heat<\/a>‘s team president and last roamed the sidelines in 2008 after 24 seasons with L.A., the New York Knicks<\/a> and the Heat, said he would still be wearing suits if he were coaching today.<\/p>\n

“I wish it went back to coat and ties,” Riley said of the NBA coaches’ current dress code of team-issued polos, quarter-zips and sweaters. “I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sidelines who looks like a leader, dresses like a leader, acts like a leader.”<\/p>\n

The 8-foot tall, 510-pound bronze statue unveiled by the Lakers outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday features legendary coach Pat Riley wearing a Giorgio Armani suit.\u00a0Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The league adopted the casual wardrobe during the 2020 bubble and has not changed back, with the NBA Coaches Association voting to keep the relaxed look.<\/p>\n

The statue, depicting Riley holding up his right fist high in the air — the “Showtime” Lakers’ signal to have Magic Johnson pass the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his signature skyhook throughout the 1980s — immortalized his fashion sense with the coach in not only an Armani suit, but also a crocodile leather belt.<\/p>\n

And the guests on hand for the statue’s unveiling before the Lakers hosted the Boston Celtics<\/a> showed Riley’s icon status extended beyond the hardwood.<\/p>\n

Seated on the dais along with Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Dwyane Wade and Lakers acting owner Jeanie Buss was acclaimed actor Michael Douglas, who revealed the slick-backed hairdo he wore to play Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall Street” was inspired by Riley.<\/p>\n

“I was with Pat, we went to Miami, we were driving in his red Mercury, a convertible with the top down,” Douglas said. “I was sitting in the backseat, I was looking at Pat driving and I said, ‘His hair’s not moving! This is a convertible!’ and so I said that’s the way I wanted to go [for Gekko].”<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

1 Related<\/p>\n

Riley coached the Lakers from 1981 to 1990 and won four championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988 — the last coming after he famously guaranteed a repeat title at the ’87 championship parade.<\/p>\n

He is the eighth Laker with a statue on Star Plaza, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know how I got here, but I got here and now there’s a statue out there,” Riley said. “And I’m so grateful. I really am. It’s beyond gratitude. I’m so grateful to be honored and to be with those who are the giants that I jumped up on their shoulders and they carried me. They did it. And here I’m today.”<\/p>\n

The base of the statue includes an inscription: “There will come a time when you are challenged, and when that time comes, you must plant your feet. You must stand firm. You must make a point. About who you are, what you do, and where you come from. When that time comes, you do it.”<\/p>\n

Riley also spoke about a couple of current Lakers in LeBron James<\/a> and JJ Redick during a pregame news conference.<\/p>\n

He recruited James to play for the Heat, teaming up with Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010.<\/p>\n

“I thought getting the big three — Dwyane, Chris Bosh and especially LeBron — that we had finally put together what I thought could become a dynasty,” Riley said. “It was, I mean, four trips to the Finals in a row, two world championships was an incredible run. And, as a coach and as somebody who really thought about how to build that particular team and who built it, I saw something that could have lasted eight to 10 years. But I understood … the business in the NBA is the business in the NBA and players have an opportunity to go somewhere else. And he went to Cleveland and he won a title up there. So, I wish him nothing but the best. But I’m going to be selfish here and say, I wish I had him for another six or eight years. Would’ve been great, but we’ll never know.”<\/p>\n

Riley, the 13th coach in Lakers history, also endorsed Redick, who is the 32nd.<\/p>\n

“I love JJ, I really do,” Riley said. “He’s a fiery guy. He could shoot the hell out of the ball. He was tough as nails. … Sometimes I look back and I remember myself at that time and I look at JJ and I think they picked the right person. There’s just a quality about him I think that goes above and beyond. And they have a hell of a team for him right here, right now with [Luka] Don\u010di\u0107 and [Austin] Reaves and obviously with LeBron. And so, I think Rob [Pelinka] will continue with the new ownership to build that team and to complement those players. But they have a great opportunity, and I think JJ will be a great coach for it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dave McMenaminFeb 23, 2026, 12:55 PM CloseLakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-498506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}