Pat Riley is one of those rare people in basketball who was great at just about everything he touched. As a player, he was solid. As a coach, he was elite, and as an executive, he built championship teams.
So when the Lakers decided to honor him with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena at Star Plaza on Sunday, nobody was really surprised. It felt right. But Riley is not the only Laker to receive this kind of honor. He actually joins a pretty long and impressive list. Let us take a look at everyone who has been commemorated out there.
Players Whose Statues Have Been Built by the Lakers
On Sunday, when Riley’s statue was unveiled, he became the eighth member of the Los Angeles Lakers to be honored at Star Plaza. If we see Magic Johnson, who played for the Lakers from 1979 to 1991 and came back briefly in 1996, he was the first player to get this honor. His statue was unveiled in 2004.
Then came Chick Hearn in 2010. But he was not a player. He was a legendary announcer who called Lakers games from 1961 to 2002. Jerry West followed in 2011, representing his time as a player with the team from 1960 to 1974.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was next in 2012, who was honored for a career that ran from 1975 to 1989. Shaquille O’Neal got his statue in 2017, celebrating the dominant run he had from 1996 to 2004. Elgin Baylor, who played from 1958 to 1971, was commemorated in 2018.
Then there is the late Kobe Bryant, who actually received two statues. One was unveiled in February of 2024 that represented his No. 8 jersey era, and another in August of 2024, which represented his No. 24 era. That felt completely fitting for someone who had two entire chapters to his career.
What Pat Riley’s Statue Looks Like
Riley’s statue stands close to eight feet tall and is packed with small details. What makes its placement especially meaningful is where they chose to put it. It is right between Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar.
The statue captures Riley exactly the way fans remember him on the sideline. He is dressed in one of those sharp Giorgio Armani-tailored suits, complete with a crocodile leather belt, and we see his 1985 championship ring sitting on his finger, and his right fist is raised in the air.
The base of the statue is just as thoughtful.
If we see it lays out his career achievements, including 24 seasons as a head coach and 1,381 combined regular-season and playoff wins, which places him fifth all-time among coaches, and on the right side of the base, there is a Bible verse.
It is Mark 3:25, which reads, “A house divided against itself will not stand.” Riley used that verse as a guiding principle with his Showtime Lakers teams.
“I want to thank all of you. Significance doesn’t come from comfort. It comes from adversity, from discipline, from refusing to be ordinary. One day we look back with the incredible pride and gratitude to have been part of something truly special. That statue right there is loaded up with all of us who took this magical journey,” Riley said during an interview on Sunday.
By placing his statue among other legends, the Lakers ensured that future generations will always remember the man who helped turn the team into a powerhouse.
