Just before the Los Angeles Lakers tip off against their ancient archrivals, the Boston Celtics, on Sunday, they will honor former head coach Pat Riley by unveiling a statue of him outside of Crypto.com Arena.
Multiple generations of NBA fans know Riley as the coach and team president of the Miami Heat. But he cut his teeth as the coach of the dynastic Showtime Lakers during the 1980s. He started out as an assistant coach during the 1979-80 season when they won their first championship of the decade, and once he became their head coach in November 1981, he guided them to four more titles.
Current Lakers coach JJ Redick paid tribute to Riley and reflected on his memories of watching Riley’s teams over the years.
Via Lakers Nation:
“I grew up watching 90s basketball and those [New York] Knicks and [Miami] Heat teams,” Redick said. “And just how physical and tough minded they were and then obviously played against Riles in Orlando when he was still coaching. The culture word is overused, but the sustainable level of consistency that Miami has had since he’s been there. I wish, maybe I don’t because I don’t want to be 48 [years-old]. I wish I was alive and well to watch 1980s basketball. But, when you don’t have a TV until 1992, it makes it tough nor the memory capacity of 2-6 years-old to really watch those games. But, what he was able to do as a head coach for the Lakers is, I think it’s the north star for any coach to be at one place for basically close to a decade and win a bunch of championships. That’s all we can ask for.”
When the Lakers hired Redick during the 2024 offseason, they reportedly saw him as a Riley-like coaching prospect. So far, he hasn’t done a bad job. His Lakers are currently 34-21 and are in fifth place in the Western Conference, although they’re tied record-wise with the fourth-place Houston Rockets.
He has brought a definite sense of purpose and discipline, as well as increased attention to detail and a data-driven approach to the Lakers since being hired. That isn’t much different from the approach to coaching Riley championed in L.A. during the 1980s.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick praises Pat Riley ahead of Sunday’s statue unveiling
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
