It’s hard to overstate Pat Riley’s importance to the Miami Heat. He’s the man who turned the Heat into one of the best-run and winningest franchises in the NBA, the man whose fingerprints are all over the three championship trophies the team has lifted over its heads.
Which is why the team has decided to name its court after him.
“Thirty years, three championships, countless moments — none of it would have been possible without Pat Riley at the helm of the ship,” Heat owner and managing general partner Micky Arison said in a statement announcing the court. “Pat has accomplished so much for this franchise and this city that it’s only fitting his name is forever etched on the hardwood where every day we will be reminded of his impact on the game and the Heat.”
It’s a fitting tribute to Riley, who arrived in Miami to coach the team in 1995 and was on the bench for the franchise’s first title in 2006, then was in the front office when the Heat lured LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade, winning two more rings He helped engineer trades that brought Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Goran Dragic ́, Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry to Miami as well Beyond just executing trades, he was the man who built Heat culture into something emulated around the league.
“This has been one hell of a journey that Micky and I have taken together over the last 30 years,” Riley said in a statement. “The goal from day one was to win, and win big we did. We won championships, sprayed each other with champagne, had parades, celebrated on this floor, in this arena, in the streets with our great fans and hung the names of our greatest players from the rafters.
“Naming the court after me would have made my parents very proud. It is a great, great honor for myself, Chris and my family I can only say thank you from the bottom of my heart to Micky and the Arison family for this honor And to all the players, coaches, staff and super fans, I say thank you.”
Riley was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach — he won four titles coaching the Showtime Lakers before going to New York and leading that franchise to some of its best-ever finishes — and likely will be again for his front office work in Miami.
And now he fittingly will be enshrined on the court where the Heat play.
