Pat Riley and LeBron James have had an interesting relationship since LeBron chose to leave the Miami Heat in 2014 to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite the rift between the two, Riley gave James props for his performance in the NBA Finals for the Lakers, as well as giving credit to Jimmy Butler.
Pat Riley: "The Lakers were great. They were a great team. And they have the greatest player in the game today, with LeBron and Anthony Davis, and a cast of real veteran players. They beat us fair and square."
— Five Reasons Sports (@5ReasonsSports) October 23, 2020
Given the current dynamic of Riley and LeBron's relationship, it was interesting to see Riley admit LeBron is still the greatest player in the NBA. At the same time, he wanted to shout out Butler for his herculean efforts for the Heat in the NBA Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers.
Riley says he won't talk about Finals…
"It's an excuse."
"We just didn't have enough."
"Jimmy is Superman, those 2 games he had are 2 of the best games ever that I've seen."
"Don't make me go back and do that, I'll think about it all winter. And lament, if only."
— Five Reasons Sports (@5ReasonsSports) October 23, 2020
The two games Riley is speaking about on Butler are Games 3 and 5 in the NBA Finals. In Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Heat, Butler contributed 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists to make the series 2-1 in favor of the Lakers.
The five-time All-Star would become the first player ever to outscore, outrebound, and out assist LeBron in a postseason game. Butler would then put together another memorable outing in Game 5 for the Heat, accounting for 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists to force a Game 6.
However, Butler's efforts were thwarted in Game 6 as LeBron and Anthony Davis dominated from the beginning of the game. James and Davis proved that they are the best duo in the NBA while Butler appeared to be understandably gassed after a hard-fought series for the Heat.
Riley is still not over the fact that LeBron left the Heat to pursue a championship elsewhere. But with LeBron still performing at such a high level at 35 years old, Riley has nothing but praise for the four-time NBA champion.
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