On Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers are unveiling a statue of Pat Riley in a ceremony to honor the legendary player and coach.
The ceremony took place at Star Plaza before the Lakers hosted the Boston Celtics, a fitting opponent given that Riley’s coaching tenure was defined by his rivalry with Boston. Riley becomes the eighth Lakers figure immortalized with a statue, joining Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Chick Hearn, and Elgin Baylor.
Revisiting Pat Riley’s Legendary NBA Career and Lakers Tenure
Riley was born on March 20, 1945; he’s 80 years old, and he turns 81 next month.
However, Riley’s connection to the Lakers organization started 56 years ago, when a scrappy guard from New York arrived in Los Angeles and began learning what winning looked like from the inside.
The San Diego Rockets selected Riley with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1967 NBA draft after he starred at Kentucky, where he led the Wildcats to the 1966 NCAA championship game. He spent three seasons in San Diego before the Portland Trail Blazers claimed him in the 1970 expansion draft, then promptly traded him to Los Angeles.
BREAKING: Pat Riley statue unveiled —
This is awesome. 👏🔥
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24) pic.twitter.com/tNfuFAh6Ob
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 22, 2026
Riley played five seasons with the Lakers as a reserve guard, averaging 7.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game over his nine-year career. He wasn’t a star. He was a role player backing up Jerry West on a roster loaded with Hall of Famers. His most productive season came in 1974-75, when he averaged 11.0 points in 22 minutes per game across 46 appearances.
The defining moment of his playing career came in 1971-72, when Riley contributed off the bench for a Lakers team that rattled off a still-unbroken 33 consecutive wins and captured the NBA championship. That squad, led by Wilt Chamberlain and West, went 69-13 in the regular season. Riley saw the habits, preparation, and relentlessness of greatness up close. He didn’t need to be the best player on that team to absorb what made it work.
After the Lakers traded him to Phoenix early in the 1975-76 season, Riley retired. He returned to the organization in 1977 as a broadcaster, calling games alongside Chick Hearn. Then, in 1979, Paul Westhead hired him as an assistant coach, and the Lakers won the 1980 championship. When the team needed a new head coach weeks into the 1981-82 season, West was the initial choice but declined and suggested Riley instead. The role player became the sideline icon.
Riley’s coaching tenure from 1981 to 1990 produced a 533-194 regular-season record, four NBA championships (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), and seven Finals appearances.
Riley left the Lakers after the 1989-90 season, coached the New York Knicks for four years, then built a second dynasty in Miami. He won his fifth championship as a head coach with the Heat in 2006, added two more titles as an executive in 2012 and 2013, and remains the team’s president at age 80.
Riley’s nine championships across every role in basketball trace back to those five seasons in a Lakers uniform, watching winners work. Now, he has a statue to honor that journey.
