Dave McMenaminFeb 22, 2026, 08:55 PM ETCloseLakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Lakers unveil Pat Riley statue (0:36)The Los Angeles Lakers honor Pat Riley with a statue. (0:36)
LOS ANGELES — Legendary Lakers coach Pat Riley was honored with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday and the nearly 8-foot tall, 510-pound bronze rendering features the famously stylish Riley in his preferred attire: a Giorgio Armani suit.
The Hall of Fame coach, who is currently the Miami Heat’s team president and last roamed the sidelines in 2008 after 24 seasons with L.A., the New York Knicks and the Heat, said he would still be wearing suits if he was coaching today.
“I wish it went back to coat and ties,” Riley said of the NBA coaches’ current 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 has not changed back, with the NBA Coaches Association voting to keep the relaxed look ever since.
And the guests on hand for the statue’s unveiling before the Lakers hosted the Boston Celtics showed Riley’s icon status extended beyond the hardwood.
Seated on the dais along with Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Dwyane Wade and Lakers acting owner Jeanie Buss was acclaimed actor Michael Douglas, who revealed the slick-backed hairdo he wore to play Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” was inspired by Riley.
“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].”
Riley coached the Lakers from 1981 to 1990 and won four championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988 — the last coming after he famously guaranteed a repeat title at the ’87 championship parade.
He is the eighth Laker with a statue on Star Plaza, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar.
“I don’t know how I got here, but I got here and now there’s a statue out there,” Riley 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.”
Dave McMenaminFeb 22, 2026, 08:55 PM ETCloseLakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseLakers and NBA reporter for ESPN. Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09.Follow on X
The statue, depicting Riley holding up his right fist high in the air — the “Showtime” Lakers’ signal to have Magic Johnson pass the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his signature skyhook throughout the 1980s — immortalized his fashion sense with the coach in not only an Armani suit, but a crocodile leather belt, too.
He recruited James to play for the Heat, teaming up with Wade and Chris Bosh in 2010.
Riley, the 13th coach in Lakers history, also endorsed Redick, who is the 32nd.
Lakers unveil Pat Riley statue (0:36)The Los Angeles Lakers honor Pat Riley with a statue. (0:36)
The Los Angeles Lakers honor Pat Riley with a statue. (0:36)