Lakers unveil statue of legendary former coach Pat Riley - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Legendary Lakers coach Pat Riley was honored with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena on Sunday and the nearly 8-foot tall, 510-pound bronze rendering features the famously stylish Riley in his preferred attire: a Giorgio Armani suit.

The Hall of Fame coach, who is currently the Miami Heat's team president and last roamed the sidelines in 2008 after 24 seasons with L.A., the New York Knicks and the Heat, said he would still be wearing suits if he were coaching today.

«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.»

The league adopted the casual wardrobe during the 2020 bubble and has not changed back, with the NBA Coaches Association voting to keep the relaxed look.

The statue, depicting Riley holding up his right fist high in the air — the «Showtime» Lakers' signal to have Magic Johnson pass the ball to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for his signature skyhook throughout the 1980s — immortalized his fashion sense with the coach in not only an Armani suit, but also a crocodile leather belt.

And the guests on hand for the statue's unveiling before the Lakers hosted the Boston Celtics showed Riley's icon status extended beyond the hardwood.

Seated on the dais along with Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Dwyane Wade and Lakers acting owner Jeanie Buss was acclaimed actor Michael Douglas, who revealed the slick-backed hairdo he wore to play Gordon Gekko in the movie «Wall Street» was inspired by Riley.

«I was with Pat, we went to Miami, we were driving in his red Mercury, a convertible with the top down,» Douglas said.