The Los Angeles Lakers have officially set the date. On Feb. 22, 2026, Pat Riley will take his place among the legends outside Crypto.com Arena, with a statue unveiling that could not come on a more perfect night.
**Lakers to unveil Pat Riley statue on rivalry night**
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That evening the Lakers will host the Boston Celtics, the very team Riley battled with in some of the most iconic NBA Finals in league history. Talk about poetic.
Riley led the Lakers to four NBA championships and seven Finals appearances during his nine-season run as head coach from 1981 to 1990. Two of those titles came against the Celtics. As did the two crushing losses. If anyone understood [what that rivalry meant](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-have-every-reason-to-circle-december-5-on-calendars) and what it took to win in it, it was Riley.
This statue has been a long time coming. Riley did not just coach the Lakers. He _was_ the face of the Showtime era. With Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy running a fast-paced offense unlike anything the NBA had seen, the Lakers were dominant and absolutely thrilling to watch.
Under Riley, the franchise went a remarkable 533–194 in the regular season, with 102 playoff wins. That is a winning percentage over .730 across nearly a decade.
It did not start on the sidelines either. Riley was a player for the Lakers from 1970 to 1975. He was part of that legendary 1971–72 Lakers squad that won a still-unbroken 33 straight games and captured the NBA title.
After his Los Angeles years, Riley moved on to coach the New York Knicks and later the Miami Heat, where he eventually won another ring as coach in 2006.
He is still involved in Miami to this day as the team president. In fact, just last season, the Heat named their court after him, showing the same kind of love that Los Angeles will now give him.
When the statue is unveiled in Star Plaza, Riley will become the eighth Lakers figure to be honored that way, joining the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and Chick Hearn.
The Lakers didn’t just win under Riley. They set a standard. His teams won 50 or more games every year, and they crossed the 60-win mark in five straight seasons. He even grabbed Coach of the Year honors in 1990, his final year there.
Now, one of the greatest coaches in NBA history will be immortalized where he belongs, in bronze, in the city that made [the legendary Showtime era](https://lakeshowlife.com/ridiculous-stat-proves-lakers-legend-magic-johnson-pg-goat) come to life.