Every game I played with Pat Riley, win or lose, I was ready and prepared — without question." They expected to win championships and when you expect to win championships you can't afford any slack-offs." When Lakers coach Jack McKinney was injured in a bicycle accident in November 1979, assistant coach Paul Westhead took over and hired Riley as an assistant. "As the stylish leader of the Showtime Lakers, Pat Riley became the epitome of an era. "I had never met Pat Riley and he came in and I was like, 'Man, is this Robert De Niro or this Pat Riley!'"

Source: Los Angeles Times February 22, 2026 22:48 UTC