The Big Lead

This is how the LA Lakers plan to celebrate Pat Riley's accomplishments

By Aikansh Chaudhary

Dec 25, 2010; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Dec 25, 2010; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat president Pat Riley before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most decorated franchises in the NBA. They have 17 NBA title banners hanging in the Crypto.com Arena and a plethora of players and coaches have contributed to it.

While the Purple and Gold have consistently won championships in each decade, the Showtime Lakers was the most enjoyable era to watch the team play in the league.

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Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were the key players who led the team to five NBA Championships during the Showtime era. Pat Riley was involved in all five of them as he won one as an assistant coach and five as the head coach of the team.

Considering Riley's contributions to the franchise, the Lakers have decided to pay tribute to him by unveiling a statue for him.

"Pat is a Lakers icon," Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said. "His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today. My dad recognized Pat's obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team."

As expected, the statue will be built outside the Lakers arena. It's a perfect way to acknowledge Riley's involvement in making the LA Lakers one of the greatest NBA franchises in the history of the league.

Right now, Riley is the President of Basketball Operations for the Miami Heat. He assumed this role in 1995 and since then has guided the franchise to three NBA titles (2006, 2012, and 2013).

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