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Lakers Announce Date for Pat Riley Statue Unveiling

Ryan Phillips

The Los Angeles Lakers have announced the date they will unveil a statue of former head coach Pat Riley.
The Los Angeles Lakers have announced the date they will unveil a statue of former head coach Pat Riley. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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The Lakers have announced the date they will unveil a statue of Pat Riley outside Crypto.com arena, and it will come the day the team plays a fitting opponent.

The ceremony to unveil the statue will take place on February 22, hours before Los Angeles hosts the Boston Celtics.

Riley led the Lakers to four NBA titles and seven NBA Finals appearances in his nine seasons as the team's head coach. Two of those championships came against the Celtics, as did two of those Finals losses. He was the main leader of the franchise's "Showtime" era led by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.

After leaving the Lakers, Riley coached the Knicks and Heat, ultimately winning another NBA title with Miami in 2006. He was named president of the Heat when he joined the organization in 1995 and has remained in that capacity ever since.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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