The Los Angeles Lakers announced Monday that Pat Riley will be honored with a statue at “Star Plaza” outside Crypto.com Arena. Riley, who won six championships with Los Angeles — one as a player (1972), one as an assistant coach (1980) and four as head coach (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) — will be the eighth Lakers luminary to get a statue.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today. My dad recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team. The style of basketball Pat and the Lakers created in the ’80s is still the blueprint for the organization today: an entertaining and winning team.”
The statue has been commissioned, but not completed. It is “set for completion in 2026,” according to the team, and its unveiling will be announced “at a later time.”
Riley, 79, got the news from Buss on a video call on Monday, according to the Lakers. Also on the call were Riley’s wife, Chris; Jerry West’s widow, Karen; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Magic Johnson; James Worthy; Michael Cooper; A.C. Green; Vlade Divac and Kurt Rambis.
Outside the arena, Riley will become the first Lakers coach with a statue. His likeness will be alongside those of Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, West, Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Chick Hearn.
Last month, the Miami Heat, for whom Riley has served as team president since 1995, named their home court after him. “This is beyond even my imagination of a reward for a man’s life’s work,” Riley said then. Even though he’s in his 30th season with the Heat, many of his career’s most memorable moments came with the Lakers, particularly when he was head coach during the “Showtime” era. It is only right that they celebrate him, too.
