Subscribe
Follow Us
With the Miami Heat facing against the Orlando Magic in the regular season opener Wednesday, there will also be another special moment happening during the game. Heat president Pat Riley will be honored with his name on the court at the Kaseya Center during a halftime ceremony as head coach Erik Spoelstra gives his thoughts on the legendary coach and executive.
There is no doubt that Riley's mark on the team is prevalent whether it be a coach or a executive leading the franchise to three championships and seven NBA Finals appearances in both roles. Spoelstra would have trouble Tuesday saying in few words the impact Riley has on the organization according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“You can’t. You can’t sum it up,” Spoelstra said. “He’s created a culture that is respected worldwide in sports and even beyond that. It just transcends the professional game of basketball in the NBA.”
Heat's Erik Spoelstra speaks on the “vision” Pat Riley brought
Halftime Wednesday will be extended by 10 minutes for the ceremony as the court will be named “Pat Riley Court at Kaseya Center” to also note his 30th year with the franchise. Riley brought winning to the Heat franchise that was lacking in that area before he came in as Spoelstra notes the “vision” be brought for Miami.
“It’s really about creating a vision for winning and then he’s given us all a blueprint to follow and then to have room to help grow it in a different way,” Spoelstra said. “But his mentorship to everybody in the organization, whether it’s noticeable or subtle, is probably one of the things that’s not talked about enough with him. He’s a force of nature.”
“He’s proven that he can bring a vision to create winning and he’s taken a bunch of people along with him,” Spoelstra continued, “allowing people space to grow and expand it. That’s genius.”
Pat Riley on the 30 years spent with the Heat
Riley has given his thoughts on this year's Heat team as being a make or break season for the unit since he was the one that brought together the current unit led by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro. For the 79-year old who accomplished many accolades with the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, the 30 years with the Heat “went fast.”
“The 30 years, it went fast,” Riley said last week via The Miami Herald. “It goes fast. I didn’t realize just how fast it goes and it seems like it’s going faster every day. But it’s been a blessing for me.
“I think it’s unbelievable that I could stay here that long, that anybody in this league can stay somewhere that long,” Riley continued. “I do thank [Heat managing general partner Micky Arison] sincerely for bypassing those moments when he probably wanted to ship me out of town. There were those days. But both of us have stayed together and I think that’s what’s important.”
Heat's Erik Spoelstra has bold Hall of Fame take for Pat Riley
Riley has been inducted into the Hall of Fame as a head coach before in 2008, but Spoelstra believes he should entered in two more times, one as an executive and the other as a “career contributor.”
“He should 1,000 percent get inducted as an executive into the Hall of Fame,” Spoelstra said. “Then after that, he should go in a third time as a career contributor, for sure. What he’s contributed to the game in terms of the branches of people who have worked under him in three different organizations. Those branches go pretty deep in this league and to be a part of 25 percent of all the NBA Finals [as a player, coach or executive], that should be noted as a contributor going into the Hall of Fame. So he should be going in two more times.”
At any rate, there is no doubt that Spoelstra has the utmost respect for Riley since both have been on this journey to make the Heat a top tier franchise in the NBA. They look to add another productive season to their impressive resumes as the Heat takes on the Magic Wednesday night where Riley's name will be immortalized on the Kaseya's Center court at halftime.
