Lakers unveil statue of Pat Riley as pat riley reflects on missed Heat ‘dynasty’

Los Angeles honored pat riley with a bronze statue outside Crypto. com Arena on Sunday, a nearly 8-foot, 510-pound rendering that depicts him in a Giorgio Armani suit and crocodile leather belt. The unveiling came before the Lakers’ game against the Boston Celtics on February 22, 2026, a contest the Lakers later lost, 111-89.

Honoring Pat Riley at Star Plaza

The statue at Star Plaza captures Riley holding his right fist high in the air — the Showtime-era signal for Magic Johnson to pass to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his signature skyhook in the 1980s. The bronze figure stands nearly 8 feet tall and weighs 510 pounds, and the base carries an inscription that reads: "There will come a time when you are challenged, and when that time comes, you must plant your feet. You must stand firm. You must make a point. About who you are, what you do, and where you come from. When that time comes, you do it. "

Statue guests and star remarks

Guests on the dais included Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dwyane Wade and Lakers acting owner Jeanie Buss. Acclaimed actor Michael Douglas also sat on the dais and told a story linking Riley’s immovable hair to the slick-backed style he adopted playing Gordon Gekko in the movie "Wall Street": "I was with Pat, we went to Miami, we were driving in his red Mercury, a convertible with the top down, " Douglas said. "I was sitting in the backseat, I was looking at Pat driving and I said, 'His hair's not moving! This is a convertible!' and so I said that's the way I wanted to go [for Gekko]. "

Jeanie Buss called Riley someone who "Forever changed the history of our league — with flair and swagger, " and called him a "guardian angel for the franchise. " Johnson described Riley as the "greatest in-game adjustment coach we’ve ever seen, " adding, "Thank you for pushing me to another level" and "Every time we went to battle, we were prepared. " Johnson also said former owner Jerry Buss, Jerry West and Chick Hearn were surely smiling from above for the occasion.

Shaquille O’Neal, who could not attend, said Riley "changed a franchise, " adding that fans "are going to see greatness standing right there for years to come. " "That’s not style, " O’Neal said. "That’s legacy. " Dwyane Wade said Riley "changed the game by building culture. "

Riley on dress code and gratitude

Riley, who is 80 years old and serves as president of the Miami Heat, said he would still be wearing suits if he were coaching today. "I wish it went back to coat and ties, " he said of the current coaches' dress code of team-issued polos, quarter-zips and sweaters. "I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sidelines who looks like a leader, dresses like a leader, acts like a leader. " The league adopted the casual wardrobe during the 2020 bubble and the NBA Coaches Association voted to keep the relaxed look.

On the dais, Riley reflected on the honor: "I don't know how I got here, but I got here and now there's a statue out there, " he said. "And I'm so grateful. I really am. It's beyond gratitude. I'm so grateful to be honored and to be with those who are the giants that I jumped up on their shoulders and they carried me. They did it. And here I'm today. " During remarks he added, "It's not about mediocre. It's about excellence. "

Reflections on the Heat era

Riley spoke at a pregame news conference about his time building the Heat roster that featured LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He said he recruited James to Miami in 2010 to team with Wade and Bosh and called that collection the "Big 3. " "I thought getting the Big 3 — Dwyane, Chris Bosh and especially LeBron — that we had finally put together what I thought could become a dynasty, " Riley, 80, said Sunday in Los Angeles. "It was. Four trips to the Finals in a row, two world championships. It was an incredible run. And as a coach and somebody who really thought about how to build that particular team and had built it, I saw something that could have lasted eight to 10 years. "

Riley added that he understood James' decision to return to Cleveland in 2014, which ultimately led to the Cavaliers winning their first championship in franchise history. "I understood, " Riley said. "The business in the NBA is the business in the NBA. Players have an opportunity to go somewhere else; he went to Cleveland and won a title up there. So I wish him nothing but the best. But I'm going to be selfish here and say I wish I had him for another six or eight years. That would have been great. But we'll never know, will we?" The context notes that Chris Bosh took offense when James left.

LeBron James responded to Riley's comments when a reporter relayed them: "I never said I’m going to go there four years and decide to go somewhere else, " James said in Los Angeles on Sunday. "That’s just how the cards were played. But, yeah, it’s human nature to look back and say what could have been. But that’s part of life. I thought the four years that we had were great, obviously. We were able to pick up two championships, we lost two of them, unfortunately. But a lot of great memories, a lot of great time there. It would have been interesting to see what could have happened. " James later went on to win his fourth title, his first with the Lakers, in 2020.

Riley's coaching résumé and honors

Riley coached the Lakers from 1981 to 1990 and won championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, with the 1988 title following his famous guarantee of a repeat at the 1987 championship parade. He last roamed the sidelines in 2008 after 24 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. Riley later delivered the Miami Heat’s first NBA title and has won five championships as a head coach overall; he also led the 2006 champion Heat to a title as coach. He was named Coach of the Year three times with three different franchises — the Lakers (1989-90), New York Knicks (1992-93) and Heat (1996-97) — and earned 11 Coach of the Month honors between 1983 and 2006. Over his coaching career he led teams to at least 50 wins in 17 seasons, including seven 60-win campaigns, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Additional items mentioned in the same coverage included Erik Spoelstra defending Myron Gardner after a $35, 000 fine with an "easy target" declaration, and questions about the status of Davion Mitchell and Nikola Jovic for a Bucks game amid a doctor visit.

The statue makes Riley the eighth Laker with a statue on Star Plaza, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Shaquille O'Neal, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The coverage also referenced a lineup of franchise icons that included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and a name rendered as Chick Kern.

Riley's presidency of the Heat, his age of 80, the statue's Armani styling and crocodile leather belt, the inscription on the base, the guests' remarks and the sequence of events around the February 22, 2026 unveiling and the subsequent 111-89 loss to the Celtics are all part of the record from the ceremony and surrounding news conference.