Mateo’s Hoop Diary: “I ended up getting pushed through the door to coach Showtime”: Pat Riley’s statue unveiling date announced and notes on the WNBA Rookie of the Year race

Pat Riley will have his statue unveiled at Star Plaza by the Lakers when they host the Celtics on Feb. 22, per a team press release. He is still second in regular season wins (533) and second in winning percentage (.733), never having below a 50-win campaign as the head. Additionally, he is also second in playoff wins (102) and first in playoff winning percentage (68.5).

That’s a thick résumé for the guy who was denied entry by security into the press lounge before accepting a job as co-broadcaster to Chick Hearn. He eventually found himself as an assistant after Jack McKinney’s bicycle accident and two seasons later, was the head coach after Magic Johnson got Paul Westhead fired.

“I ended up getting pushed through the door to coach Showtime,” Riley said on an appearance on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Skyhook podcast in September 2022. He was also self-deprecating, saying the greatest talented team in the NBA carried him until he learned how to coach.

Hall-of-Famer Michael Cooper told Five Reasons Sports Network two years ago for a story on Riley’s career that he was a master motivator who instantly changed the intensity of practices when he took over. Sometimes he would resort to his “temporary insanity” methods to keep players disciplined and grounded, but he knew the right time to lay off and was sharp with the Xs and Os. It also helped that he was willing to accept difficult personalities, even admitting in his book, Show Time, that “A few sinners mixed in with a few saints can be a powerful brew.”

                                                    (Game 6 in Philadelphia, 1980)

Riley was the coach for the 1982 championship over the 76ers, then helped the Lakers get revenge on the Celtics in 1985 for the previous year and the other seven times they were finished off. He was also the coach when they became the first team since the Celtics (1968, 1969) to repeat as champions in 1987 and 1988. He guaranteed that at the parade after taking down the Celtics while James Worthy was hungover.

Other players were also angry, but he didn’t care. He wanted them to own their greatness.  The ride lasted two more years, but there were four rings as the head and one as an assistant, plus one Coach of the Year selection (1990) at its end. His impact plus style, which he stole from his father, made him an icon. It’s impossible to measure how much not accepting the role in Tequila Sunrise (19880 has affected his legacy, but he’s probably content.

While telling the story of the ‘87 title in Show Time, Riley was unreserved, explaining how he lived on parasitic value. He shared the story of when Jerry West said he was going to retire, and when he wondered if he could ever be as successful without Johnson, who was walking off into the distance on a Bahamian beach. It’s incredible to look through considering what he accomplished after his Lakers chapter.

WNBA Rookie of the Year race:

The Rookie of the Year race should be over while the WNBA season is almost three-quarters complete. It’s been an excellent class of youngsters, but the number one pick, Paige Bueckers, separated herself from her peers.

Keep in mind that Sonia Citron is another top-shelf guard and now the best player on the Washington Mystics after Brittney Sykes was traded to Seattle. Yet Bueckers is an advanced weapon, setting records like being the fastest rookie to log 450 digits and 100 offerings, and has been the best player all season on the Dallas Wings (9-24) while occasionally dealing with knee soreness.

Aside from leading all rookies in scoring, Bueckers receives less help than the only ones averaging double-figure scoring (Citron- 14.8; Kiki Iriafen- 12.5; Janelle Salaün- 10.4). On top of that, Bueckers faces more pressure from opponents on the dribble and is the best shot creator for others in this group; her assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6) is higher than Citron (1.3), Iriafen (0.8), and Salaün 0.86).