Pat Riley Gets Lakers Statue in Armani Suit, Joins Franchise Legends Outside Crypto.com Arena

Pat Riley is now part of the permanent Lakers landscape, and the statue outside Crypto.com Arena looks exactly like the version of Riley most NBA fans remember: suit on, fist up, and no interest in dressing down.

The Lakers unveiled Riley’s statue Sunday before their game against the Boston Celtics, adding the Hall of Fame coach to Star Plaza and honoring the man who led the franchise through the center of the Showtime era in the 1980s. The bronze statue is nearly 8 feet tall and weighs 510 pounds. It shows Riley in a Giorgio Armani suit with his right fist raised, the same signal associated with the Lakers’ Showtime action that often ended with Magic Johnson feeding Kareem Abdul Jabbar for the skyhook.

Riley, now the Miami Heat’s team president, coached the Lakers from 1981 to 1990 and won four NBA championships with the franchise in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. He reached seven NBA Finals in nine seasons as head coach and became one of the defining figures of the team’s most recognizable era. The 1988 title was the repeat Riley famously guaranteed during the 1987 championship parade.

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The ceremony pulled together several major names tied to Riley’s career and reputation. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar joined the event, along with Dwyane Wade and Lakers acting owner Jeanie Buss. Actor Michael Douglas also appeared and used the moment to connect Riley’s image to one of his best known movie characters. Douglas said the slicked back look he used for Gordon Gekko in Wall Street came directly from watching Riley in person.

“I was with Pat, we went to Miami, we were driving in his red Mercury, a convertible with the top down,” Douglas said. “I was sitting in the backseat, I was looking at Pat driving and I said, ‘His hair’s not moving! This is a convertible!’ and so I said that’s the way I wanted to go [for Gekko].”

Riley also made clear he has not changed his views on how NBA coaches should look on the sideline. The league moved to a more casual coaching wardrobe during the 2020 bubble and kept it after the NBA Coaches Association voted to maintain the relaxed standard. Riley said that if he were still coaching, he would still be in a suit.

“I wish it went back to coat and ties,” Riley said of the NBA coaches’ current dress code of team-issued polos, quarter-zips and sweaters. “I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sidelines who looks like a leader, dresses like a leader, acts like a leader.”

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That line fit the statue itself, which not only includes the Armani suit but also a crocodile leather belt, another detail the design team kept from Riley’s longtime courtside style. The result is less generic tribute and more exact replica of the Lakers coach who made image, pace, and control part of the same package.

Riley is now the eighth Lakers figure with a statue on Star Plaza, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The placement also puts him physically among the stars most associated with the titles he helped deliver.

He addressed that point directly during the ceremony.

“I don’t know how I got here, but I got here and now there’s a statue out there,” Riley said. “And I’m so grateful. I really am. It’s beyond gratitude. I’m so grateful to be honored and to be with those who are the giants that I jumped up on their shoulders and they carried me. They did it. And here I’m today.”

The statue base also includes an inscription tied to Riley’s leadership style and reputation for intensity: “There will come a time when you are challenged, and when that time comes, you must plant your feet. You must stand firm. You must make a point. About who you are, what you do, and where you come from. When that time comes, you do it.”

Riley also used his pregame media session to talk about present and former Lakers connections. He reflected on recruiting LeBron James to Miami and said he believed the Heat’s Big Three core could have lasted longer, while also saying he wished James well after he returned to Cleveland. Riley also endorsed Lakers coach JJ Redick, calling him “the right person” and praising both his toughness and the roster around him.

The ceremony came before a Lakers Celtics game, which added another layer to the timing. A franchise built on championships put one of its championship coaches in bronze before playing its oldest rival. The Lakers have had plenty of stars, but Sunday’s event was a reminder that the guy in the suit helped define the look of the dynasty too.

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