LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Pat Riley on Feb. 22, as the Hall of Famer joins the likes of former team greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant in bronze outside their downtown arena.
The Lakers will fittingly honor Riley against their long-time rival, the Boston Celtics.
Riley coached the Lakers from from 1981 to 1990 during the team's “Showtime” era and won four NBA championships (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). He led the Lakers through one of the most dynamic eras for any team in NBA history. With Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar leading an exciting roster with a groundbreaking fast-break offense, the Lakers went 533-194 (.733) in Riley’s tenure and added 102 playoff victories over nine seasons.
The Lakers won at least 50 games in each of his nine seasons as coach and they won at least 60 games in five straight seasons. He was named NBA Coach of the Year with the Lakers in 1989-90.
He played for Los Angeles from 1970 to 1975, and was a team broadcaster before becoming Paul Westhead’s assistant in 1979. Riley was part of the 1971=72 team that won a league-record 33 straight games and won the NBA championship.
The 80-year-old Riley also coached the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. He won another championship as coach with the Heat in 2006 and now serves as their team president.
Just last season, the Heat named the court in their downtown arena after Riley in a ceremony attended by many of his former players.
Riley will become the eighth Lakers luminary to be honored with a statue in Star Plaza, which has become a popular tourist attraction for fans of the globally popular franchise. The others are Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Bryant, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and broadcaster Chick Hearn.
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FILE - Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley, center right, is swamped by fans and players after the Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers to win the NBA championship in Los Angeles, June 9, 1982. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
PARAGUANA PENINSULA, Venezuela (AP) — Less than two weeks after a U.S. military operation captured former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and as his successor, acting President Delcy Rodriguez, announced plans to reform Venezuela’s energy sector, the country’s largest oil refining hub dominates the northwestern coast. Across the Paraguana Peninsula, fishing boats share the water with oil tankers, as daily life stretches from refinery-side coastal communities and salt flats to the sand dunes of Medanos de Coro National Park.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
Goats cross the sand dunes at Medanos de Coro National Park in Falcon state, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People work at the Salinas de Cumaraguas salt flats on the Paraguana Peninsula, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People work at the Salinas de Cumaraguas salt flats on the Paraguana Peninsula, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People work at the Salinas de Cumaraguas salt flats on the Paraguana Peninsula, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Francklin Fonseca works at the Salinas de Cumaraguas salt flats on the Paraguana Peninsula, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Truck driver Francisco Rodriguez waits to load salt at the Salinas de Cumaraguas salt flats on the Paraguana Peninsula, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jose Gabriel Sanchez cuts a block of salt at the Salinas de Las Cumaraguas salt ponds on the Paraguana Peninsula in Falcon state, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Workers stand atop a truck being loaded with salt at the Salinas de Las Cumaraguas salt ponds on the Paraguana Peninsula in Falcon state, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Members of the Sanchez family work at the Salinas de Cumaraguas salt flats on the Paraguana Peninsula, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Fishermen ready the nets as oil tankers are docked at the Cardon refinery in Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jarrison Arias sells shaved-ice treats along the road at Medanos de Coro National Park in Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A fisherman throws his net with the Cardon refinery in the background in Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A woman walks her dog as flames burn from flare stacks at the Cardon refinery in Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Fishermen ready their nets near the Cardon refinery in Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Ceylis Mendez and her daughter Zoe cool off in the Gulf of Venezuela in front of the Cardon oil refinery off the shore of Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Fishermen pass an oil tanker in the Gulf of Venezuela off the shore of Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Flames rise from flare stacks at the Amuay refinery in Los Taques, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A boy stands on a fishing boat with the Cardon refinery in the background in Punta Cardon, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A woman who lives near the Cardon refinery hangs clothes to dry in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
