Everything about Pat Riley totally explained
Patrick James Riley (born
March 20 1945) is a former
American National Basketball Association head
coach and current team president of the
Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams and an assistant coach to another. He most recently won the
2006 NBA Championship with the Miami Heat. Prior to his tenure in Miami, he served as head coach for the
Los Angeles Lakers and the
New York Knicks. He also played for the
Los Angeles Lakers' championship team in 1972, which brings his personal total to seven NBA titles. He is known as Coach Slick and Mr. "GQ".
Biography
Riley was born in
Rome, New York, and raised in
Schenectady. His father,
Leon Riley, played 22 seasons of
minor league baseball as an
outfielder and
first baseman, and appeared in four
major league games for the
1944 Philadelphia Phillies.
Playing career
Riley played for Linton High School in Schenectady under New York State coaches Walt Przybylo and Bill Rapavy. Linton High School's 74-68 victory over New York City's Power Memorial on December 29, 1961, is remembered mostly for its two stars: Power Memorial's Lew Alcindor, who later changed his name to
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; and his future coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, Linton's Riley. In 1991, Riley called it,
One of the greatest games in the history of Schenectady basketball.
Riley was a versatile athlete in college, participating in both basketball and
football. He led the
1966 University of Kentucky basketball team, coached by the legendary
Adolph Rupp, to the
NCAA title game, where they lost to Texas Western (now known as
UTEP), a game that was dramatized in the movie
Glory Road.
He was selected by the
San Diego Rockets in the 1st round of the
1967 NBA Draft, and was also drafted as a
flanker by the
Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the
1967 NFL Draft. He joined the Rockets and was later selected by the
Portland Trail Blazers, in the 1970 NBA expansion draft, but immediately traded to the
Los Angeles Lakers, which he helped win the
1972 NBA Finals, coming off the bench and guarding friend and legendary Laker guard
Jerry West in practice. Despite this, overall, his playing career was undistinguished, as he was a perennial bench player. He retired after the
1975-76 NBA season as a member of the Western Conference champion
Phoenix Suns.
Riley finished his NBA playing career with a 7.4 points per game scoring average and a field-goal percentage of 41.4%.
Coaching career
Los Angeles Lakers
Riley returned to the NBA in
1977 as a broadcaster for the Lakers. During the
1979-80 season, when the team's head coach,
Jack McKinney, was injured during a near fatal bicycle accident, assistant coach
Paul Westhead took over the team's head coaching duties. Riley then moved from the broadcast booth to the bench as one of Westhead's assistant coaches.
Six games into the 1981-82 season,
Magic Johnson said he wished to be traded because he was unhappy playing for Westhead. Shortly afterward, Lakers' owner
Jerry Buss fired Westhead. At an ensuing press conference, with
Jerry West at his side, Buss named West head coach. West, however, balked, and Buss awkwardly tried to name West as "offensive captain" and then named West and Riley as co-coaches. West made it clear during the press conference that he'd only assist Riley, and that Riley was the head coach. Thereafter, Riley was the interim head coach, until his status became permanent.
Riley led the Lakers to four consecutive
NBA Finals appearances. His first title came in his
first season, against the
Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams returned to the Finals
the next year, but Riley's Lakers were swept by the 76ers. The Lakers lost in the Finals again in
1984, to the
Boston Celtics in seven games. The Lakers earned Riley his second NBA title in
1985 in a rematch of the previous year, as the Lakers beat the Celtics in six games. The Lakers' six-year Western Conference streak was broken
the following year by the
Houston Rockets.
In
1987, Riley coached a Lakers team that's considered one of the best teams of all-time. With future
Hall of Famers Magic Johnson,
James Worthy and
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, plus important role players such as
Michael Cooper,
Byron Scott,
A.C. Green,
Mychal Thompson, and
Kurt Rambis, the Lakers finished 65-17 in the regular season, third-best in team history. They met with similar success in the playoffs,
dispatching the Celtics in six games to win Riley his third NBA title.
One of Riley's most famous moments came when he guaranteed the crowd a repeat championship during the Lakers' championship parade in downtown
Los Angeles (he first made the guarantee during the post-victory locker room celebration). While the
1988 Lakers didn't produce as many wins in the regular season as the 1987 Lakers, they still managed to win the NBA title, becoming the first team in 20 years to repeat as champions. The Lakers beat the
Detroit Pistons in seven games in the
1988 NBA Finals, making good on Riley's promise. Riley's titles with the Lakers make him the fifth man to play for an NBA Championship team and later coach the same NBA team to a championship. The others are
Bill Russell,
Tom Heinsohn,
K. C. Jones, and
Billy Cunningham.
Although Riley would offer no further guarantees, his Lakers embarked upon a quest to obtain a third consecutive championship in
1989. Having successfully claimed a repeat championship the year before, the term used for this new goal was a "
three-peat" championship, and indeed Riley, through his corporate entity,
Riles & Co., actually
trademarked the phrase
"three-peat" via the
Chicago Bulls accomplishing the feat twice, at the professional expense of Riley himself). But ultimately, the Lakers were swept by the Pistons in the
1989 NBA Finals.
Riley stepped down as coach of the Lakers after they lost to the
Phoenix Suns in the
1990 NBA playoffs, amid rumors of player mistreatment and anger problems on his part. In spite of these rumors and his resignation, he was named
NBA Coach of the Year for the first time.
New York Knicks
After stepping down as coach, Riley accepted a job as a
television commentator for
NBC. However, this job only lasted one year, as he became head coach of the
New York Knicks in
1991. In
1993, he led the Knicks to the best regular season record in team history and received his second Coach of the Year award. Commentators especially admired Riley's ability to work with the physical, deliberate Knicks, considering that he was associated with the fast-paced Lakers in the 1980s. Riley returned to the NBA Finals in
1994, but his Knicks lost in seven games to the
Houston Rockets after being up 3–2 in the series.
Miami Heat
In 1995, Riley resigned from the Knicks. The move caused some controversy, as the Heat were accused by the Knicks of tampering by pursuing Riley while he still had a year remaining on his contract with the Knicks. The matter was settled after the Heat sent their
1996 first round pick (which the Knicks would use to draft
Walter McCarty) and $1 million in cash to the Knicks on September 1, 1995. Riley's coaching of the Heat to playoff contention would later make them
bitter rivals with his former team.
In
1995-1996, Miami was swept in the first round by
Phil Jackson-coached
Chicago Bulls, who were led by a rejuvenated
Michael Jordan. This season was most notable for the ongoing housecleaning that took place, with the arrival of building blocks
Alonzo Mourning and
Tim Hardaway. The offseason would also bring them Nets forward
P.J. Brown and Suns swingman
Dan Majerle.
In
1997, the Heat defeated his old team, the Knicks, in a physical seven game series. Advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in franchise history, they proved no match for Jordan and his Bulls. Riley was selected as Coach of the Year for the third time, after leading Miami to a 61–21 regular season record, 1st in the Atlantic division.
The Heat would compile consecutive seasons over 0.600. However, the 1998, 1999, and 2000 playoffs would be disappointments as they lost to the arch-rival Knicks; the first two in the opening round and the latter in the second round.
Riley then entered the 2000 season armed for bear. In a shuffling of the deck, Riley traded away Brown and
Jamal Mashburn in exchange for
Eddie Jones in one trade and acquired
Brian Grant in another, although suffering a major setback after discovering
Alonzo Mourning's kidney condition. After finishing a respectable 50-32 in
2001 in spite of the new nucleus and the loss of their star center, the Heat organized a housecleaning after the season, as the Heat lost two of their best players when guard
Tim Hardaway was traded to the
Dallas Mavericks and
Anthony Mason signed with the
Milwaukee Bucks. In part because of these departures, the Heat finished a disappointing 36-46 in
2002. Riley was so disgusted with the Heat's performance that he declared he was about to "fire himself."
Before the beginning of the
2003-2004 season, he did step down as Heat coach, to fully dedicate his attention to his duties as general manager. Longtime assistant
Stan Van Gundy and rookie
Dwyane Wade, whom Riley drafted 5th overall, led the Heat back into the playoffs with a 42–40 record after starting 0-7. Riley concentrated on improving the team even further before the 2004-2005 season. One of his biggest moves as full-time general manager was to trade
Caron Butler,
Brian Grant,
Lamar Odom and a first-round draft pick to the Lakers for superstar
Shaquille O'Neal. Head coach Van Gundy led the Heat to the Eastern Conference finals during the 2005 playoffs, although they lost to the Detroit Pistons after being up 3-2 in the series.
Riley resumed coaching the Heat on
December 12,
2005, replacing
Stan Van Gundy after the Heat started the season with a disappointing 11–10 record. Van Gundy had resigned in order to "spend more time with [his] family." Although Van Gundy maintained that his decision to resign was his own, there has been speculation that he was pushed out by Riley.
The move came as a shock to the basketball community, with some speculating that with Shaquille O'Neal returning from injury,
Dwyane Wade having his best season yet, and a high-caliber roster including
Gary Payton,
Jason Williams and
Antoine Walker, Riley wanted to try to regain his former glory by coaching Miami to its first NBA Championship. Riley's Heat team defeated his
Los Angeles Lakers-days nemesis, the
Detroit Pistons, in the 2006 Eastern Conference playoffs on
June 2,
2006, making it the first time the Miami Heat reached the finals. Riley's Heat squared off against the
Dallas Mavericks in the
2006 NBA Finals. Despite losing the first two games to Dallas, the Heat rallied to win the final four games and their first NBA Championship. It was Riley's fifth championship as a head coach. He joined
Alex Hannum and
Phil Jackson as the only coaches to coach two different teams to NBA titles. He also became the only coach to
twice replace a coach in mid-season and take that team to an NBA title.
Despite speculation of his possible retirement, on
August 23,
2006 Riley announced that he'd return as head coach of the Heat for at least one more season. His coaching record currently stands at 1,151–589.
On January 3, 2007 Riley announced that he'd take an indefinite leave of absence from coaching due to ongoing "hip and knee problems". Assistant coach
Ron Rothstein had assumed interim duties until Riley's return on February 19, 2007.
On April 29, 2007, the 5th-seeded Chicago Bulls completed a four-game sweep of the 4th-seeded Miami Heat (Chicago had the better record but Miami won its division championship).
On August 13, 2007 Riley announced that he'd be returning for the next three seasons.
Retirement
On April 28, 2008, Riley announced that he'd step down as coach of the Miami Heat after the team finished with an NBA-worst 15-67 record, the worst regular season output of Riley's career. Former Heat assistant
Erik Spoelstra was announced as his replacement. Riley will remain as team president, in charge of making personnel decisions, scouting, etc.
Outside of basketball
Outside of basketball, Riley has developed into a
pop-culture figure. This is born out of Riley's signature look, a slicked-back hairstyle, which is often described as gangster-looking, and his immaculate
tan. He came to the public eye leading the
"Showtime" Lakers of the
1980s, furthering his image by "guaranteeing" a championship. It should also be noted that Riley has coached in three American cities well known for popular
nightlife and
celebrity culture. Riley is also known for his friendship with
Giorgio Armani, preferring to wear
Armani suits during basketball games, and even modeling once at an Armani show.
Riley is also a highly successful motivational
speaker during the off-season. Riley earns in excess of $50,000 for each speaking engagement.
Pat Riley's speaker profile
Riley and his wife Chris, have two children, James and Elisabeth Riley.
On February 27, 2007, the Miami Heat were honored for their 2005-2006 NBA Championship at the White House. During the ceremony, Riley presented
George W. Bush with a jersey before announcing, "I voted for the man. If you don’t vote you don’t count." After the ceremony, Riley was questioned by reporters about the political nature of his comments. He responded by saying, "I’m pro-American, pro-democracy, I’m pro-government. I follow my boss. He’s my boss."
College basketball statistics as a player
>
| Season |
Games
Played |
Minutes |
FG |
FGA |
% |
FT |
FTA |
% |
Total
Rebs |
RPG |
Asst. |
APG |
F |
Total
Points |
PPG |
| 1964-65 |
25 |
825 |
160 |
370 |
43.2 |
55 |
89 |
61.8 |
212 |
8.5 |
27 |
1.1 |
98 |
375 |
15.0 |
| 1965-66 |
29 |
1078 |
265 |
514 |
51.6 |
107 |
153 |
69.9 |
259 |
8.9 |
64 |
2.3 |
106 |
637 |
22.0 |
| 1966-67 |
26 |
953 |
165 |
373 |
44.2 |
122 |
156 |
78.2 |
201 |
7.7 |
68 |
2.6 |
90 |
452 |
17.4 |
| Total |
80 |
2856 |
590 |
1257 |
46.9 |
284 |
398 |
71.4 |
672 |
8.4 |
159 |
2.0 |
294 |
1464 |
8.3 |
NBA statistics as a player
Regular Season Stats
Year
| Age |
Team |
G |
Min |
Pts |
PPG |
FGM |
FGA |
FGP |
FTM |
FTA |
FTP |
3PM |
3PA |
3PP |
REB |
RPG |
AST |
APG |
STL |
BLK |
TO |
| 1967-68 |
22 |
San Diego Rockets |
80 |
1263 |
628 |
7.9 |
250 |
660 |
.379 |
128 |
202 |
.634 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
177 |
2.2 |
138 |
1.7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1968-69 |
23 |
San Diego Rockets |
56 |
1027 |
494 |
8.8 |
202 |
498 |
.406 |
90 |
134 |
.672 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
112 |
2.0 |
136 |
2.4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1969-70 |
24 |
San Diego Rockets |
36 |
474 |
190 |
5.3 |
75 |
180 |
.417 |
40 |
55 |
.727 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
57 |
1.6 |
85 |
2.4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1970-71 |
25 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
54 |
506 |
266 |
4.9 |
105 |
254 |
.413 |
56 |
87 |
.644 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
54 |
1.0 |
72 |
1.3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1971-72 |
26 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
67 |
926 |
449 |
6.7 |
197 |
441 |
.447 |
55 |
74 |
.743 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
127 |
1.9 |
75 |
1.1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1972-73 |
27 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
55 |
801 |
399 |
7.3 |
167 |
390 |
.428 |
65 |
82 |
.793 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
65 |
1.2 |
81 |
1.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1973-74 |
28 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
72 |
1361 |
684 |
9.5 |
287 |
667 |
.430 |
110 |
144 |
.764 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
128 |
1.8 |
148 |
2.1 |
54 |
3 |
0 |
| 1974-75 |
29 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
46 |
1016 |
507 |
11.0 |
219 |
523 |
.419 |
69 |
93 |
.742 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
85 |
1.8 |
121 |
2.6 |
36 |
4 |
0 |
| 1975-76 |
30 |
Phoenix Suns |
62 |
813 |
289 |
4.7 |
117 |
301 |
.389 |
55 |
77 |
.714 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
50 |
0.8 |
57 |
0.9 |
22 |
6 |
0 |
9 Season Totals
| 528 |
8187 |
3906 |
7.4 |
1619 |
3914 |
.414 |
668 |
948 |
.705 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
855 |
1.6 |
913 |
1.7 |
112 |
13 |
0 |
Playoff Stats
Year
| Team |
G |
Min |
Pts |
PPG |
FGM |
FGA |
FGP |
FTM |
FTA |
FTP |
3PM |
3PA |
3PP |
REB |
RPG |
AST |
APG |
STL |
BLK |
TO |
| 1968-69 |
San Diego Rockets |
5 |
76 |
37 |
7.4 |
16 |
37 |
.432 |
5 |
6 |
.833 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
11 |
2.2 |
2 |
0.4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1970-71 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
7 |
135 |
66 |
9.4 |
29 |
69 |
.420 |
8 |
11 |
.727 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
15 |
2.1 |
14 |
2.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1971-72 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
15 |
244 |
78 |
5.2 |
33 |
99 |
.333 |
12 |
16 |
.750 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
29 |
1.9 |
14 |
0.9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1972-73 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
7 |
53 |
18 |
2.6 |
9 |
27 |
.333 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
5 |
0.7 |
7 |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1973-74 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
5 |
106 |
39 |
7.8 |
18 |
50 |
.360 |
3 |
4 |
.750 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
6 |
1.2 |
10 |
2.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 1975-76 |
Phoenix Suns |
5 |
27 |
13 |
2.6 |
6 |
15 |
.400 |
1 |
1 |
1.000 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
0 |
0.0 |
5 |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Totals
| 44 |
641 |
251 |
5.7 |
111 |
297 |
.374 |
29 |
38 |
.763 |
0 |
0 |
.000 |
66 |
1.5 |
52 |
1.2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
NBA head coaching record
| Team |
Year |
Regular Season |
Post Season |
| G |
W |
L |
PCT |
Finish |
Result |
| LAL |
a href=http://1981-82_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1981-82 NBA season - Totally Explained">1981-82 | 71 |
50 |
21 |
.704 |
1st in Pacific |
Won NBA Championship
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1982-83_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1982-83 NBA season - Totally Explained">1982-83 | 82 |
58 |
24 |
.707 |
1st in Pacific |
Lost in NBA Finals
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1983-84_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1983-84 NBA season - Totally Explained">1983-84 | 82 |
54 |
28 |
.569 |
1st in Pacific |
Lost in NBA Finals
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1984-85_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1984-85 NBA season - Totally Explained">1984-85 | 82 |
62 |
20 |
.756 |
1st in Pacific |
Won NBA Championship
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1985-86_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1985-86 NBA season - Totally Explained">1985-86 | 82 |
62 |
20 |
.756 |
1st in Pacific |
Lost Conf. Finals
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1986-87_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1986-87 NBA season - Totally Explained">1986-87 | 82 |
65 |
17 |
.793 |
1st in Pacific |
Won NBA Championship
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1987-88_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1987-88 NBA season - Totally Explained">1987-88 | 82 |
62 |
20 |
.756 |
1st in Pacific |
Won NBA Championship
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1988-89_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1988-89 NBA season - Totally Explained">1988-89 | 82 |
57 |
25 |
.695 |
1st in Pacific |
Lost in NBA Finals
|
| LAL |
a href=http://1989-90_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1989-90 NBA season - Totally Explained">1989-90 | 82 |
63 |
19 |
.768 |
1st in Pacific |
Lost in Second Round
|
| NY |
a href=http://1991-92_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1991-92 NBA season - Totally Explained">1991-92 | 82 |
51 |
31 |
.622 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in Second Round
|
| NY |
a href=http://1992-93_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1992-93 NBA season - Totally Explained">1992-93 | 82 |
60 |
22 |
.732 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in Conf. Finals
|
| NY |
a href=http://1993-94_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1993-94 NBA season - Totally Explained">1993-94 | 82 |
57 |
25 |
.695 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in NBA Finals
|
| NY |
a href=http://1994-95_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1994-95 NBA season - Totally Explained">1994-95 | 82 |
55 |
27 |
.671 |
2nd in Atlantic |
Lost in Second Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://1995-96_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1995-96 NBA season - Totally Explained">1995-96 | 82 |
42 |
40 |
.512 |
3rd in Atlantic |
Lost in First Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://1996-97_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1996-97 NBA season - Totally Explained">1996-97 | 82 |
61 |
21 |
.744 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in Conf. Finals
|
| MIA |
a href=http://1997-98_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1997-98 NBA season - Totally Explained">1997-98 | 82 |
55 |
27 |
.671 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in First Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://1998-99_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1998-99 NBA season - Totally Explained">1998-99 | 50 |
33 |
17 |
.660 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in First Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://1999-00_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="1999-00 NBA season - Totally Explained">1999-00 | 82 |
52 |
30 |
.634 |
1st in Atlantic |
Lost in Second Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://2000-01_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="2000-01 NBA season - Totally Explained">2000-01 | 82 |
50 |
32 |
.610 |
2nd in Atlantic |
Lost in First Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://2001-02_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="2001-02 NBA season - Totally Explained">2001-02 | 82 |
36 |
46 |
.439 |
6th in Atlantic |
Missed Playoffs
|
| MIA |
a href=http://2002-03_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="2002-03 NBA season - Totally Explained">2002-03 | 82 |
25 |
57 |
.305 |
7th in Atlantic |
Missed Playoffs
|
| MIA |
a href=http://2005-06_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="2005-06 NBA season - Totally Explained">2005-06 | 61 |
41 |
20 |
.672 |
1st in Southeast |
Won NBA Championship
|
| MIA |
a href=http://2006-07_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="2006-07 NBA season - Totally Explained">2006-07 | 82 |
44 |
38 |
.537 |
1st in Southeast |
Lost in First Round
|
| MIA |
a href=http://2007-08_NBA_season.totallyexplained.com title="2007-08 NBA season - Totally Explained">2007-08 | 82 |
15 |
67 |
.183 |
5th in Southeast |
Missed Playoffs
|
|
areer | 1904 |
1210 |
694 |
.636 |
|
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