For Pat Riley, it was show time again on Sunday in Los Angeles. This time it was his own show, with a statue unveiled in front of the Lakers’ Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
In an afternoon attended by celebrities including actor Michael Douglas and singer Michael McDonald, Riley was not only attended by members of his 1980s championship coaching tenure with the Lakers, but also by several players from his Heat days, including Heat championship guard Dwyane Wade and Heat owner Mickey Arison.
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Riley incorporated several elements of his Hall of Fame coaching career into his speech, thanking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at one point but then also mentioning how the lessons he learned from his coaching tenure helped guide others, including Wade.
“With Dwyane Wade, he’s not a Laker, but I put Laker DNA into him,” Riley said in comments. “You know, it just comes with the scheme. He’s a rookie. He’s raw. He’s great. He’s gifted. He’s talented. He’s cocky. He’s authentic. I’ve never seen a young man work harder to be one of the greatest players of all time than Dwyane Wade.”
Riley also talked about how starting coaching near Hollywood impacted his growth and development decades later.
“We’ve been good friends for a long time,” he said of Dallgas. “When he invited me and (wife) Chris to come to Monaco and then to Nice when he was filming that movie, he had a rap party in Venice, and Kathryn Turner happened to be the actress in that movie. He was playing with Danny DeVito in that movie. So during the rap party, I walked over and sat in front of Danny DeVito and Mike, just to chat and have some fun.”
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Speaking of McDonald, Riley said: “I go back all the time and I can recall every championship at some point, that game, that shot, anything. I just remember that. Usually when I listen to music, you know, the Michael McDonald of that time is here today. He married Chris and I again. He renewed our vows in Hawaii.”
Riley also mentioned other statues in Arena Plaza, including one of Lakers championship guard Magic Johnson.
“He’s one of the best players. I see him here, No. 32, dribbling, and he’s pointing at somebody,” Riley said of Johnson’s statue. “That’s how he’s always communicated.”
Along the way, Riley mentioned the impact it had on coaching during his career.
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Riley led the Lakers into the Hall of Fame from 1981 to 1990, winning championships in 1982, ’85, ’87 and ’88. During Riley’s tenure, the Lakers compiled a 533-194 record (.733), winning at least 50 games in each of his nine seasons and winning at least 60 games in five consecutive seasons.
“Coaching to me,” he said, “is an interactive relationship where you’re put in a place to get results. I was put in a place with no experience. I was scared to death, but I was ready — I didn’t think I was ready, but I knew I was ready. I just felt it.”
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“So coaching is an interaction, you’re put in a place, you’re hired, you grow into that place and you need to get a result. And that result obviously has to be winning, especially in Los Angeles.”
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So he won in Los Angeles, he won as the coach of the New York Knicks, he won as the coach of the Heat, and he went on to be the chairman of the Heat.
The court at Kasea Center is now named in his honor, and Arison allowed the Lakers to erect a statue of Riley, suggesting it may one day join the Wade statue in front of the Heat’s arena.
On Sunday, it was about the Lakers, championships and memories that are now bronzed.
Riley, 80, joins Lakers statues honoring former Lakers players Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and broadcaster Chick Hearn.
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“That statue is there, the one they’re unveiling today, and that statue is filled with all of us who were on that amazing journey,” Riley said.
