Heat president Pat Riley provided an interesting take in the NBA “Greatest of All-Time” debate this week.
As LeBron James nears the all-time scoring record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Riley chose one of these players that he has history with to be considered his “GOAT.” Riley worked as the coach for the Lakers during Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career there, and he also was the Heat president while LeBron James was on the squad.
“I always said that Kareem was the greatest player of all time because of his longevity,” Riley said, via ESPN. “Kareem was unique from the standpoint that he could play at a high level, play 80 games a year ... get beat up because of double- and triple-teams and guys just taking shots at him. He just developed this mental toughness along with a great physical body to really last forever.
