Pat Riley Rallies Lakers and Heat to Beat Celtics During Statue Unveiling Ceremony

The Los Angeles Lakers invited Pat Riley to unveil his statue at Crypto.com Arena before their game against the Boston Celtics.

Pat Riley Rallies Lakers and Heat to Beat Celtics During Statue Unveiling Ceremony

Pat Riley had his statue unveiled by the Lakers (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • Pat Riley unveiled his statue at the Lakers' Star Plaza, celebrating his legacy with the franchise.
  • He delivered a rallying cry to the Lakers, urging them to defeat their rivals, the Boston Celtics.
  • Despite the motivation, the Lakers lost to the Celtics by 22 points during the game following the ceremony.

The NBA’s own ‘Godfather,’ Pat Riley, has built a career as a player, coach, and executive, spanning nearly 60 years, in which he has had a success that no one else can rival.

A championship as a player on the Los Angeles Lakers, then coaching them to four titles in the Showtime era, then one more with the Miami Heat before he finally laid his clipboard to rest. Then, as an executive, he won two more with the Florida-based franchise and has instilled in them a culture that is difficult for nearly everyone to match.

To this day, many believe his blueprint has not just helped the Heat, but also the purple and gold franchise, as both try to establish themselves as the perennial superpowers in the NBA.

In the midst of this, he has had to face some choice opponents. But the most regular one has been the Boston Celtics. The rivalry between them and the Lakers defined the Showtime era, and later, the Heat took some pride in defeating them, particularly in the playoffs.

The time has come to kick some (expletive). To kick some Boston (expletive).

Pat Riley said

This was the 80-year-old’s rallying cry to his former team when they invited him to unveil a statue in his honor. Unsurprisingly, he had to invoke the rivalry that made his career both with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.

Lakers could not channel Pat Riley’s rallying cry

Pat Riley knows his methods have been lost in translation ever since he moved on from the Los Angeles Lakers. Nowadays, the franchise tries to continue its winning tradition, but not with the grit and fight the three-time Coach of the Year instilled.

Pat Riley with Lakers' dignitaries at his statue unveiling
Pat Riley with Lakers’ dignitaries at his statue unveiling (Image via Andrew Simon/X)

He hoped his rallying cry would fuel the men in purple and gold to do what their fans expect, and that is to defeat the Boston Celtics when they visited Crypto.com Arena moments after Riley was immortalized with a statue.

The Lakers started well, going toe-to-toe with their perennial rivals, but entering the second quarter, the men in green surged ahead. Combined with their shooting struggles, the home team could not keep up with the Celtics.

Even though Pat Riley sat courtside, all he could do was watch his former player, LeBron James, and his current teammates struggle to close the gap and end up losing embarrassingly by 22 points.

Riley could only get solace watching James eclipse 43000 points. Maybe he can get a better response from his Miami Heat when the Celtics visit Kaseya Center on April Fools.

Pat Riley wants coaches to wear suits and ties

Before the Lakers vs. Celtics game started, the franchise, with permission from the Miami Heat, prepared a media session with reporters who would ask Pat Riley questions specifically about his time with the purple and gold franchise.

I never change much. What a coach should wear, I wish they went back to coats and ties. I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sideline who looks like a leader, dresses like a leader, acts like a leader.

Pat Riley said

This was the Heat president’s reply when The Athletic’s Law Murray asked him about his penchant for Armani suits and whether he would bring it back to the sidelines if he had the chance.

Riley reiterated that nowadays fashion is in everything, and that casualness is how society has evolved. He understands it is what coaches nowadays are comfortable with, but believes suits and ties make a difference.

He reminded the media that back in the 80s and 90s, fans expected head coaches to be leaders with attitude, which, unsurprisingly, is absent today in both coaches and the game.

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