The Los Angeles Lakers will honor former coach Pat Riley with a statue outside their downtown arena.
The Lakers announced Monday that they have commissioned a statue to stand in Star Plaza immortalizing the coach who won four championships with the “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s. Riley also won championship rings with the Lakers as a player and an assistant coach.
The 79-year-old Riley has been part of the Miami Heat as a coach and executive for the past three decades, but his NBA roots are planted firmly with the Lakers. He played for Los Angeles from 1970 to 1975, and he was a team broadcaster before becoming Paul Westhead's assistant in 1979.
