LeBron James Reflects on Pat Riley, Heat Split Following Lakers Statue Reveal

Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers paid tribute to one of the greatest head coaches to come through the organization by unveiling a bronze statue of Pat Riley outside Crypto.com Arena.

It was a well-deserved honor for one of the most successful head coaches in Lakers history, who later continued that success with the Miami Heat as an executive, helping the franchise win three championships.

Although Riley was able to put together one of the intimidating rosters in league history, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading the way, the big three in Miami didn’t last long, as they only played together for four years, making the NBA Finals each year of that run before James left to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The relationship between Riley and James seemed a bit rocky after that. However, after Riley’s statue unveiling, James opened up about the NBA legend.

LeBron James Opens Up About Pat Riley

Pat Riley Los Angeles Lakers — Feb 22, 2026; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers former coach Pat Riley poses at statue unveiling at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“That’s one of the all-time greats since he’s been a part of this league, as a player, as a coach, executive, front office, everything,” James said of Riley. “Obviously, what he did here for the Lakers organization in the 1980s goes without saying and rightfully so with him having a statue outside this building.

“I spent four years with him. I’ve got the utmost respect for him and for his family and everything. So, it’s pretty cool.”

Despite having a star-studded squad that was incredibly dominant at its peak and rocked the league to its core with opposing franchises trying to figure out how to beat the Heat, a long run of the big three in Miami wasn’t meant to be.

James talked about being in Miami for only four years, and how he’s looked back on that time and wondered what could’ve been had he stayed rather than returning to Cleveland.

“I never said that I’m going to go there for four years and then decide to go. That’s just how the cards were played,” James said of his stint in Miami. “But yeah, it’s human nature to look back and say what could have been. But that’s part of life. The four years we had were great. Obviously, we were able to pick up two championships. We lost two of them, unfortunately. But a lot of great memories. A lot of great times there. It would’ve been interesting to see what could have happened. I also wouldn’t have given myself another 12 years to be playing this game either. So that’s another story.”

Pat Riley Pictured Heat Dynasty With LeBron James

Riley also opened up on the time James spent in Miami and how he thought they would’ve had a Heat dynasty that would’ve stood the test of time, considering how much they accomplished in four short years.

“I thought in getting the big three, Dwyane [Wade], Chris Bosh, and especially LeBron, that we had finally put together what I thought could become a dynasty,” Riley said. “Four trips to the [NBA] Finals in a row, two world championships.

“I saw something that could’ve lasted eight to 10 years. But I understood, as I said in my speech, the business of the NBA is the business of the NBA. Players have to get an opportunity to go somewhere else, and he went to Cleveland [Cavaliers], and he won a title up there. I wish him nothing but the best. But I want to be selfish here and say I wish I had him for another eight or six years would’ve been great. But we’ll never know, will we?”

As Riley points out, they’ll “never know” what the team would’ve gone on to accomplish had James stayed in Miami. It’s one of the great what-if scenarios in NBA history.