Salute to the legend! The Lakers officially announced the date of unveiling Riley statue: the 8th statue in the history of Kobe and others

On August 15, the Lakers officially announced the full schedule of the 2025-26 season. At the same time, the Lakers officially announced that the team will unveil the statue for legendary coach Pat Riley during their home match against the Celtics on February 23, 2026. Riley will become the 8th member of the Lakers' history to own a statue.

80-year-old Pat Riley is a designer of the Lakers' Showtime era in the 1980s. He coached the Lakers for 9 seasons, with a record of 533 wins and 194 losses, and 102 wins and 47 losses in the playoffs. He led the Lakers to win four championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988, two of which were defeating his old rival Celtics. Before coaching the Lakers, Riley won the championship as a Lakers assistant coach in 1980 and as a Lakers player in 1972.

Riley won a total of 6 championships in the Lakers. He will become the eighth member of the Lakers' history to be erected, joining Elkin Baylor, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Jabbar, Jerry West, and legendary announcer Chick Hearn.

The Lakers will officially unveil Pat Riley's statue during their home match against the Celtics in the new season.

Pat Riley played for the San Diego Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns as a player. After retiring, he coached the Lakers, Knicks and the Heat. He led the Heat to win the first championship in team history in 2005-06. There is no doubt that Riley is one of the greatest head coaches in NBA history. He ranked fifth in history with 1,210 wins in his coaching career. In 2008, he was selected as a coach.

When he was general manager, Riley personally created the three giants: James, Wade and Bosh. The Heat lineup advanced to the finals for four consecutive years and won the championship twice. He is still the general manager of the Heat. Of course, he is also a well-deserved Heat legend! ! !