Pat Riley is a sports legend in both Los Angeles and Miami. He coached the ‘Showtime Lakers’ to five titles throughout the 1980s before taking over the Miami Heat, where he’d go on to help the franchise win three championships, as well. Riley has always boasted a unique style and personality, making him truly one-of-a-kind. After Michael Beasley was asked about his experiences with Riley while playing with the Heat, the question was directed at rapper Ice Cube, who reveres Riley more for his work in LA.
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Cube’s first instinct was to praise the longtime executive before recalling that the Hall of Famer wasn’t always viewed as head coach material. Riley didn’t appear to be in the running for the Lakers’ coaching gig until a near-fatal motorcycle accident took then-head coach Jack McKinney off the bench. Following the incident, he was promoted to assistant coach and only continued to rise from there.
Cube lauded Riley for keeping his priorities straight while coaching under the bright lights of LA. Once he did eventually take over for Paul Westphal, who was fired at Magic Johnson’s request, Riley did things his own way. Not everyone agreed with Riley’s coaching philosophies but the results spoke for themselves.
“It seemed like he just decided to do things his way and just, you know, really respect the game,” the 56-year-old said of Riley. “Sometimes, you can get caught up on the players and the big names … But Riley, he demanded that his players respected the game, and they wanted to. And he let him run, let them do what they needed to do.”
Riley led one of the most talented rosters in NBA history, but he maintained high standards for their behavior and discipline. The Lakers possessed the talent to win, but it was his leadership that propelled them toward greatness. Even in the face of defeat, he remained determined, already focused on returning stronger the following season.
“[Riley] lost in ’84 against Boston and he not only made them better, he made them tougher,” Cube continued. “He made them tough enough to beat Boston the next year in ’85. So, you gotta be a different kind of coach, not only to be able to get your team to win, but to change their identity a little and make the same guys tougher.”
The changes Riley implemented following LA’s 1984 Finals loss proved to be successful in the coming years. Riley’s Lakers, led by Magic, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, won three of the next four NBA championships in 1985, 1987 and 1988. Had it not been for Magic’s early retirement, the franchise may have spent even longer in contention.
Riley didn’t have the same level of success during his next stint as head coach with the New York Knicks. Once he arrived in Miami, though, the sisters of fate began smiling upon Heat. Pat Riley certainly wasn’t the perfect coach, but he knew how to get the most out of some of the best players in the association.
