So Now He’s Saint Patrick
- Phil Jackson frequently gets tweaked about inheriting great teams. As great a coach and as forward a thinker as Red Auerbach was, he too inherited some great clubs. You’re only as great as your talent in the NBA. It isn’t like either coach, or any coach for that matter, took the best of the rec leagues and turned them in to multiple NBA champions. It doesn’t work that way.
That brings us to Pat Riley. He too is a great coach and a good talent evaluator. But Riley, unlike Phil, seems to get the benefit of the doubt, particularly recently in light of the gold mine he landed with LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh. Some are hailing St. Pat as the greatest thing since sliced bread. But do you really believe Riley could have pulled off this deal if not for Wade?
Riley has been on the end of some great fortune. And for those who specialize in revisionist history, let’s revisit a few facts.
Riley inherited the Showtime Lakers from Paul Westhead (aka Eddie Munster), who Magic Johnson had fired despite the Lakers and Westhead winning the ’80 title. Westhead actually inherited (there’s that word again) the Lakers in 1979 from Jack McKinney, who suffered a near fatal bicycle accident.
Riley, who was getting schooled in the broadcast booth by the legendary Chick Hearn, took over for Westhead during the 81-82 season. With 3 Hall of Famers (Magic, Kareem and James Worthy) and some awesome role players, Riley and the Lakers won 4 titles.
But he also cost them too, the ’88 sweep by the Pistons being one of his biggest goofs. After a grueling regular season and a run to the NBA Finals, Riley decided it was a good idea to take the Lakers to Santa Barbara for “boot camp” before facing Detroit. The result? Byron Scott and Magic both pulled hamstrings early on in the series and it was over.
The Lakers would also wind up giving Riley another jewel years later. When the Lakers and Jackson parted ways after the 2004 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Pistons, the Lakers offered Riley the coaching job. Why is beyond me. Fortunately, he turned it down, but before he left town, Riley made a deal with the Lakers to take Shaq back to Miami with him.
Of course that deal resulted in Riley’s 5th ring as a coach.
Granted, despite his dictatorial ways, Riley has earned a place among the NBA’s top coaches. He also has proven himself to be a good executive, but he’s frequently had help.
But just like Jackson, Auerbach and some of the best, he too was handed some of the best situations and players. As an NBA executive, he’s been as lucky as Mitch Kupchak, who got a gift named Pau Gasol and the Laker troubles turned into golden balls. Plus, players are attracted to the NBA’s best franchises, whether its the Celtics, Lakers or any of the new kids on the block, and some of the best cities, Miami obviously being one of the best. It’s another reason LeBron and his crew were attracted to the Heat.
So when you start annoiting Riley as one of the greatest of all time, take a Valium and consider the circumstances. Like any NBA coach and executive, a little luck goes a long way.
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