Greg Cote: LA gave him a statue, but Pat Riley has meant as much to Miami

Greg Cote, Miami Herald on Feb 27, 2026

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MIAMI — Two thoughts were unavoidable in watching Miami Heat godfather Pat Riley honored with a statue this week by his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

1. Great facial likeness; everything on point from the raised fist to the Armani suit. And as we learned last year with the properly mocked Dwyane Wade statue, a flattering or at least recognizable likeness in bronze may not be assumed.

2. The statue should have been unveiled in Miami, atop the steps outside the Heat’s arena off Biscayne Boulevard — not 2,700 miles west in L.A.

Alas, the Lakers outstatued the Heat.

No doubt Riley deserved the ultimate honor in both cities, as architect of the Lakers’ multichampionship Showtime era and later, currently, grand-marshaling the Heat’s run of three NBA titles.

But he wasn’t the father of winning with the Lakers the way he was with the Heat.

Miami misfired last year in merely naming the arena court after Riley and then having to watch as the Lakers gave him the higher honor he deserved. There is no rule that says a franchise star must be dead or at least departed to be gifted such an honor. Now, Miami would seem a copycat, or tardy at least, if ever it did what L.A. just did.

Riley, who will turn 81 next month, has led the Heat since 1995, first as head coach and now as club president. He took over a seven-year-old franchise that hadn’t won anything, gave it instant credibility and turned it into the most consistently winning team in South Florida sports history.

Wade, who got the statue first, was drafted by Riley, who also traded for Alonzo Mourning, hired future Hall of Fame coach Erik Spoelstra, fashioned the Big 3 era with LeBron James and Chris Bosh joining Wade, and later signed Jimmy Butler. Riley failed to give Butler enough help; still, entering this season, his 31st, he has overseen 23 playoff seasons and seven NBA Finals in all.

The high standard Riley set is why the franchise’s current malaise is overdressed with angst. Even “malaise” is harsh, considering the Heat made the Finals as recently as 2023.

But Riley himself famously coined the phrase, “There’s winning and there’s misery” — and he meant winning it all.

The current season might see Miami relegated to the NBA’s play-in tournament for a fourth straight season. Plenty of cities would celebrate such a streak. In Miami, it is unacceptable mediocrity.

But this is also true: This would be the Heat’s seventh straight season in the playoffs — a franchise record. The existing high of six in a row was set from 1996 to 2001 and tied from 2009 to 2014..

Consistency is not enough, though. Pretty good is not, either. Only competing for the NBA championship is. That is the Heat brand Riley created, the expectation he is still working to live up to once again.

He was casting for a new whale, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, and seemed close to getting him until the Bucks let the trade window shut without a deal. This summer will present a new chance at the Greek Freak. It’s a whale Riley needs, to reverse the growing narrative of a downward arc since LeBron left (hard to believe ) 12 years ago.

Nobody knows better than Riley that the current Heat iteration led by Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and now Norman Powell leaves Miami still wanting, still well shy of championship contention.

Heat fans’ impatience is understandable. In their own sports market, they look around and see the Florida Panthers with the last two Stanley Cup championships, Inter Miami the reigning MLS champ with Lionel Messi, and the Miami Hurricanes having just reached the College Football Playoff Championship Game.

(At least the Miami Dolphins, marking quarter century since their last playoff victory, and the miserly Miami Marlins are around to remind us winning can be hard.)

And even the Panthers, Inter Miami and Canes football had endured long dry spells off the national radar until recently, while all the while the Heat relentlessly won, relentlessly competed, the consistent success taken for granted by the mere assumption of it — the standard Pat Riley built here.

His statue is in L.A., but he has earned one here, too.