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This Day In Sports…March 20, 1945:
The birthday of one of the most decorated coaches in NBA history. Pat Riley first made his mark with the L.A. Lakers, with whom he won four championships in the 1980s during the team’s “Showtime” era with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. L.A. won back-to-back titles in 1987-88, inspiring Riley to trademark the term “three-peat.” It was kind of a “go ahead and stop me” move by the brash Riley. The Lakers, however, would be swept by the Detroit Pistons in the 1989 NBA Finals.
Riley was originally a broadcaster for the Lakers in the late 1970s. He was plugged into the L.A. coaching staff in 1979 and became head coach early in the 1981-82 season after star guard Magic Johnson had butted heads one too many times with coach Paul Westhead. It was at the end of that campaign that Riley won his first NBA championship. He was perfect for L.A. with his slicked-back hair and pricy suits. Riley led L.A. to another title in 1985 before notching the back-to-back crowns later in the decade. He stepped down from the Lakers in 1990 despite winning NBA Coach of the Year honors that season.
Riley did not shy away from the pressure of coaching in the NBA’s biggest markets. A four-season stint with the New York Knicks followed but did not produce a championship. In 1995, he moved on to the Miami Heat. It wasn’t the largest market, but it was flashy, and Riley was a good fit. He made his mark in the front office, too, and moved there permanently (or so he thought) in 2003. He returned to the bench in 2005-06 and captured a fifth NBA crown. Riley returned to administrative duties in 2008, and two years later he engineered one of the most-hyped free agent signings in sports history, luring LeBron James from Cleveland to Miami.
Riley is now in his 30th year as president of the Heat. He’s taking some “heat” for Miami’s struggles this season, but the franchise is almost always a contender. Riley’s 24 years as an NBA coach produced the fifth-most wins in history—his career record is 1,210-694. He spent his college career at Kentucky and was part of the UK team that lost to all-Black Texas Western (now UTEP) in the 1966 NCAA Tournament championship game. He was a two-sport star and was drafted by both the San Diego Rockets and the Dallas Cowboys in 1967. Riley opted for hoops and won an NBA title with the Lakers in 1972, but he was never more than a backup during his nine-season NBA playing career. Pat Riley…80 years old today.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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