Pat Riley is one of the more celebrated coaches and managers in the NBA. As a head coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, he won four championships before joining the Heat as their coach and winning a title in 2006. Currently, he serves as the Heat's president, a position he has filled since 2008.
As a coach, Riley has coached multiple Hall of Famers such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Alonzo Mourning. One Hall of Famer, Shaquille O'Neal, recently shared his congratulations to Riley after the Lakers unveiled a statue to honor the current Heat executive.
“I didn’t play for him here in L.A. but I got to experience him up close," O'Neal said. "One day in practice I’m upset and chasing him across the gym, I’m trying to kill him. Most coaches would’ve stepped aside, not Pat. He stopped, turned around, and stood his ground. I remember thinking ‘oh, this man is different.’ You don’t build dynasties if you’re afraid of personalities. Pat was never afraid…. Congratulations Coach, love you.”
O'Neal played under Riley for four seasons with the Heat, winning a championship in 2006. The 15-time All-Star has a notable relationship with the Heat executive. While O'Neal was one of the best players on the Heat's championship roster, he was dealt midway through the 2007-08 campaign. That season, Riley was reportedly fed up with former guard Jason Williams being late to practice which led to an altercation.
"One day, Jason Williams came late. Remember, we used to have that clock?" Shaq shared on the Straight Game podcast last summer. "Jason Williams came half a second late. He was like, 'Hey man, you need to get out.' I told Jason we're not doing that cuz that's when he got rid of Antoine and my guys and had a regular team. We was losing like crazy. So he told J-Dub to get out. I said, 'No, we're not getting out.' He said, 'Well, you get out.' I said, "Motherf—--r, put me out." So he got into a little scuffle, and the next day, I was traded."
Riley has ruffled some feathers when it comes to relationships with his players but there is no denying the impact he has left as a coach and executive.
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