EL SEGUNDO — The Lakers announced on Monday morning that they’ve commissioned a statue of Pat Riley to join Lakers legends on Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena.
The statue is set to be completed in 2026, with the team announcing the official unveiling date at a later time.
Franchise governor Jeanie Buss shared plans with Riley on Monday over a video call alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, A.C. Green, Magic Johnson, Kurt Rambis, James Worthy, Vlade Divac, Karen West and Chris Riley.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” Buss said in a statement. “His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today. My dad recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team. The style of basketball Pat and the Lakers created in the 80s is still the blueprint for the organization today: an entertaining and winning team.”
Riley won six NBA championships with the Lakers: four as the head coach (1982, ‘85, ‘87, ‘88), one as an assistant coach (‘80) and one as a player (1972).
He’ll become the eighth Laker to have a statue outside of the Lakers’ home arena, joining Elgin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West.
More to come on this story.
The Lakers announce that they’ll build a Pat Riley statue outside of Crypto.com Arena
— Khobi Price (@khobiprice.bsky.social) 2024-11-18T19:45:59.163Z
