This coming season, the Los Angeles Lakers will honor former coach Pat Riley by unveiling a statue of him simply exterior of Crypto.com Arena. It will be revealed on Feb. 22, 2026, when the Boston Celtics, who’re doubtless Riley’s least favourite group, come to city to play the Lakers.
Riley coached the Lakers for 9 years, beginning within the 1981-82 season. He inherited a roster that had received the 1980 NBA championship, and he turned it from a one-hit surprise into arguably the best group in league historical past. The Purple and Gold received 4 world titles underneath Riley’s teaching, together with two in opposition to the Celtics throughout mid-decade.
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Mychal Thompson, certainly one of his former gamers on the Lakers, is glad Riley is lastly getting a statue some 35 years after leaving the franchise. But Thompson had one necessary warning about the potential design of the statue.
Recently, the Miami Heat, the group Riley has labored for since 1995, unveiled a statue of Wade. It was broadly panned for missing a powerful resemblance to the legendary capturing guard, who received three rings in 16 NBA seasons.
Thompson, the No. 1 general choose within the 1978 draft, was traded to the Lakers halfway by the 1986-87 season. The huge man’s sturdy inside play on each ends of the ground helped make up for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s decline and allowed the group to win its final two championships of Riley’s tenure with it in 1987 and 1988.
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Today, followers know Thompson because the loquacious and colourful colour commentator on the Lakers’ radio broadcasts. He works alongside play-by-play man John Ireland.
This article initially appeared on LeBron Wire: Mychal Thompson gives warning about Pat Riley’s upcoming Lakers statue