On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that they will honor Pat Riley with a statue at “Star Plaza” outside the crypto.com arena. Riley started his Lakers journey in 1970 and won the first championship in 1972 with them. After he started working with the Lakers as an assistant coach. In 1980, he won another championship with them as assistant coach. Then, he also won four more championships with them as head coach in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988.
He will be the eighth Lakers luminary to get a statue. Current Lakers owner Jeanie Buss gave a statement. Here it is.
“Pat is a Lakers icon. 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.”
According to the team, the statue is commissioned but not completed. Optimistically, it is set for completion in 2026.
Riley is 79 years old. He got the news from Buss through a video call. His supporters were also on the call.
He will become the first coach in history to get a statue outside the arena. He will be standing alongside Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, West, Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Chick Hearn.
In a similar fashion. The Miami Heat named their court after him. He has served as team president since 1995 for the Miami Heat. At the time, Riley said, “This is beyond even my imagination of a reward for a man’s life’s work.”