Lakers Management: What Might Have Been
By Hannah Kulik
Pat Riley
For those fans too young to remember the Showtime Lakers, there is no way to overstate the contributions and accomplishments of Riley, a three-time NBA Coach of the Year (one with the Lakers) and one of the greatest coaches of all time. Riley had an undistinguished career as an NBA player from 1967 to 1976, although he played on the legendary 1972 Lakers’ team that won the NBA title.
In the 1979-80 season, an accident to then head coach Jack McKinney forced Riley to leave the broadcasting booth and join the team as an assistant coach. The team won the title that year before underachieved the following season. Paul Westhead, McKinney’s replacement, was fired early in the 1981-82 season and Riley became coach. The rest is history.
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Riley, with his swagger and cocky attitude, was the perfect choice to lead the Showtime Lakers. Riley was a rock star, and the team went on to win four more NBA titles. After the 1989-90 season, he was chosen as Coach of the Year, but then he abruptly resigned. The circumstances are not entirely clear.
Riley later coached the New York Knicks for three successful seasons, in which they were in contention each year for an NBA title. Finally, in 1995, he joined the Miami Heat as team president. He orchestrated the formation of the Big Three and was the genius behind their success. Even after James departed two years ago, when most franchises would have fallen apart, Riley has kept the Heat very competitive.
Riley is unbelievably competitive, and he has a list of accomplishments too long to list. There is no way the Lakers would be where they are today with Riley at the helm as president or general manager. He would simply not allow it.
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