Big news for Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers Announce Big News on Thursday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into a new season led by coach JJ Redick and two of the NBA's biggest stars.
LeBron James and Luka Doncic are looking to bring an NBA title to Los Angeles, which would be the franchise's first championship since 2020.
The Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. They have won 17 NBA titles, second to the Boston Celtics (18) in league history.
Pat Riley, who is the president of the Miami Heat, played a large role in several of those Lakers championships. Riley was the coach of the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s after playing for the team for five-plus seasons in the 1970s.
On Thursday, the Lakers announced Riley will have a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena unveiled on Feb. 22. As reporter Ryan Ward mentioned, the unveiling will come right before a game against the Boston Celtics.
Lakers announce that Pat Riley will have his statue unveiled outside of Crypto on Feb. 22 ahead of the matchup against the Celtics, which is fitting! pic.twitter.com/YSeuyEU1sD
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) August 14, 2025
As a player, Riley was a member of the San Diego Rockets from 1967-70. He played for the Lakers from 1970-75 and retired in 1976 after one season with the Phoenix Suns.
Riley scored 6.7 points per game for the 1971-72 Lakers, who won the organization's first title in Los Angeles after relocating from Minneapolis in 1960.
Riley's coaching career began with the Lakers. He became an assistant in 1979 and took over as the coach 11 games into the 1981-82 season.
Riley helped the Lakers to four NBA titles in nine seasons, leading a star-studded team that included Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and James Worthy.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Basketball
