.jpg)
Recent from talks
Pat Riley
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Pat Riley
Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also served as the team's head coach from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008.
Often referred to as "the Godfather", Riley is regarded as one of the greatest NBA figures of all time both as a coach and executive. He has won five NBA championships as a head coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s and one with the Heat in 2006. Riley is a nine-time NBA champion across his tenures as a player (1972), assistant coach (1980), head coach (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006), and executive (2012, 2013). He is the first North American sports figure to win a championship as a player, as an assistant coach, as a head coach, and as an executive. Since the start of his NBA career through 2023, Riley has reached 19 NBA finals across six different decades, making 25 percent of all NBA Finals as a player, coach, or executive.
Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year three times (1989–90, 1992–93 and 1996–97, as head coach of the Lakers, New York Knicks and Heat, respectively). He was head coach of an NBA All-Star Game team nine times: eight times with the Western Conference team (1982, 1983, 1985–1990, all as head coach of the Lakers) and once with the Eastern team (1993, as head coach of the Knicks). In 1996, he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in NBA history. In 2008, Riley was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association on June 20, 2012.
Riley was born in Rome, New York and raised in Schenectady. He is the son of Mary Rosalia (Balloga) and Leon Riley, who played 22 seasons of minor league baseball as an outfielder and first baseman, and appeared in four games for the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies.
Riley played basketball for Linton High School in Schenectady under head coach Walt Przybylo and assistants Bill Rapavy and Ed Catino. 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 Riley, who would go on to coach Abdul-Jabbar with the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1991, Riley called it "one of the greatest games in the history of Schenectady basketball."
Riley played college basketball for four seasons for the Kentucky Wildcats—one on the freshman team and three on the varsity. As a junior on the 1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, he was named First Team All-SEC, All-NCAA Tournament Team, NCAA Regional Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year and AP Third Team All-American, leading the Wildcats to the 1966 NCAA title game. Coached by Adolph Rupp, UK lost to Texas Western (today's UTEP), a game that was reenacted in the movie Glory Road. In his senior year, Riley made First Team All-SEC, becoming one of the few players in Kentucky basketball history to be named First Team All-SEC twice.
Riley was selected by the San Diego Rockets as the seventh overall pick of the 1967 NBA draft. Despite the fact that he had not played college football, Riley was also drafted as a wide receiver by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft. After playing three seasons with the Rockets, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1970 NBA expansion draft.
The Blazers traded Riley to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played for five seasons. Riley played a significant role as a reserve on the Lakers' 1972 NBA Championship team.
Hub AI
Pat Riley AI simulator
(@Pat Riley_simulator)
Pat Riley
Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also served as the team's head coach from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008.
Often referred to as "the Godfather", Riley is regarded as one of the greatest NBA figures of all time both as a coach and executive. He has won five NBA championships as a head coach, four with the Los Angeles Lakers during their Showtime era in the 1980s and one with the Heat in 2006. Riley is a nine-time NBA champion across his tenures as a player (1972), assistant coach (1980), head coach (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006), and executive (2012, 2013). He is the first North American sports figure to win a championship as a player, as an assistant coach, as a head coach, and as an executive. Since the start of his NBA career through 2023, Riley has reached 19 NBA finals across six different decades, making 25 percent of all NBA Finals as a player, coach, or executive.
Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year three times (1989–90, 1992–93 and 1996–97, as head coach of the Lakers, New York Knicks and Heat, respectively). He was head coach of an NBA All-Star Game team nine times: eight times with the Western Conference team (1982, 1983, 1985–1990, all as head coach of the Lakers) and once with the Eastern team (1993, as head coach of the Knicks). In 1996, he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in NBA history. In 2008, Riley was inducted in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association on June 20, 2012.
Riley was born in Rome, New York and raised in Schenectady. He is the son of Mary Rosalia (Balloga) and Leon Riley, who played 22 seasons of minor league baseball as an outfielder and first baseman, and appeared in four games for the 1944 Philadelphia Phillies.
Riley played basketball for Linton High School in Schenectady under head coach Walt Przybylo and assistants Bill Rapavy and Ed Catino. 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 Riley, who would go on to coach Abdul-Jabbar with the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1991, Riley called it "one of the greatest games in the history of Schenectady basketball."
Riley played college basketball for four seasons for the Kentucky Wildcats—one on the freshman team and three on the varsity. As a junior on the 1965–66 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team, he was named First Team All-SEC, All-NCAA Tournament Team, NCAA Regional Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year and AP Third Team All-American, leading the Wildcats to the 1966 NCAA title game. Coached by Adolph Rupp, UK lost to Texas Western (today's UTEP), a game that was reenacted in the movie Glory Road. In his senior year, Riley made First Team All-SEC, becoming one of the few players in Kentucky basketball history to be named First Team All-SEC twice.
Riley was selected by the San Diego Rockets as the seventh overall pick of the 1967 NBA draft. Despite the fact that he had not played college football, Riley was also drafted as a wide receiver by the Dallas Cowboys in the 11th round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft. After playing three seasons with the Rockets, he was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1970 NBA expansion draft.
The Blazers traded Riley to the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played for five seasons. Riley played a significant role as a reserve on the Lakers' 1972 NBA Championship team.
Recent media