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There would not have been a Showtime Lakers era without Magic Johnson and Pat Riley, and now they will both have statues outside the franchise’s Crypto.com Arena.
After the Los Angeles Lakers announced Monday they will honor Riley’s legacy with the franchise with a statue in the team’s famous Star Plaza, Johnson took to social media to congratulate his former coach who he believes is the “greatest” to ever do it:
While Riley is best known as a coaching legend, his impact with the Lakers started when he was a player. He suited up for Los Angeles from 1970-71 until 1975-76 and was part of the championship-winning team in 1971-72.
Yet it was his coaching career that led to the statue.
Riley’s timeline in the coaching profession was connected to Johnson from the start, as he was named an assistant for the Lakers under head coach Paul Westhead during the 1979-80 campaign. That just so happened to be Johnson’s rookie season, and the Purple and Gold went on to win the championship behind the dynamic point guard and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Los Angeles eventually fired Westhead during the 1981-82 season and handed the head-coaching keys to Riley.
All he did was win a championship that first year and then lead the Lakers through the 1989-90 season. In all, he went 533-194 as the head coach of the iconic franchise with four NBA championships and seven NBA Finals appearances.
It wasn’t just the winning that stood out, as he was known for his fast-break approach that worked particularly well with Johnson running the show at point guard. From that style came the famous Showtime Lakers, which dominated the 1980s and remain as one of the gold standards in NBA history.
Counting his titles as a player and assistant coach, Riley helped bring six championships to the Lakers.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” team governor Jeanie Buss said in Monday’s announcement.
“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.”
Riley will become the eighth Laker to have a statue in Star Plaza.
That statue, which will be completed in 2026, will join those of Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Chick Hearn.
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