On Monday, the Los Angeles Lakers revealed that they had commissioned a statue of former coach and player Pat Riley. The new statue will be positioned outside the Crypto.com Arena in Star Plaza. Riley, the Miami Heat’s current team president, was a player for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1970 to 1975. He later coached the team from 1981 to 1990, winning six titles during that time.
Riley came out of retirement to coach the New York Knicks until 1995, when he was appointed president and head coach of the Miami Heat, following a season of service with NBC. Perhaps the Lakers finally got around to watching Winning Time, even though Riley has been solely linked to the Heat for almost thirty years.
Riley’s attendance at the unveiling of the Dwyane Wade statue makes the announcement opportune. Riley traded a number of players to the Lakers in exchange for Shaquille O’Neal after drafting Wade in Miami. Outside the Lakers’ arena, there are currently statues of Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Elgin Baylor, and Kobe Byrant. There won’t be space for a LeBron James statue at this time.
