Pat riley how many championships

A decade later, Riley was the architect of a phenomenon known simply as Showtime, fast-breaking and no-look passing his Lakers into superstardom. Riley ultimately won four NBA championships in Los Angeles as a head coach, including back-to-back campaigns in and He remains one of the winningest coaches in NBA history.

Book the Hall Learn More. Enshrinement See More. The John W. Pat Riley No matter the time or place, or circumstance or setting, Pat Riley knew how to win. Enshrined Born March 20, Rome, NY. Was he good? Did he even want to be coach?

The only thing Lakers fans knew about Riley was he was a role player for the team during the s, he had helped Chick Hearn broadcast games for a short period of time. As a rookie head coach, Riley had a lot of pressure on his shoulders coaching superstars like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, especially when you consider the duo had already won a championship together.

Which makes the fact he led the team to the championship in his first season even more impressive. There was much more mystery with Riley, which makes his instant success all the more impressive. Sure, they had dominating regular seasons, but come playoff time, they were often embarrassingly exposed by their Western Conference foes. Then Jackson arrives, and the team wins a championship in his first season as coach, en route to winning three in a row. Yes, Kobe and Shaq still feuded with Jackson as their coach, but they took care of business on the court.

Imagine how ugly it would have been with a less-decorated coach in town. Pat Riley won four championships against some of the toughest competition in league history. The Blazers, Spurs and Kings were all legit, powerhouse championship-caliber teams. Therefore, I felt the Lakers had a true advantage with Phil on the sidelines. So, if there was a similar feeling when he was coaching the team, please let me know. The Lakers finished atop the Pacific Division in each of those nine campaigns, never posting less than 50 victories, and five time reaching 60 or more wins.

In fact, in , the Lakers set an NBA record by becoming the first club in history to record a fourth straight win season. Riley piloted the Lakers to NBA titles in , , , and He played three seasons in San Diego before joining the Lakers in Pat spent five full seasons in a Laker uniform and averaged 6. Prior to his pro-career, Pat was a collegiate star at the University of Kentucky Pat and his wife, Chris, are involved with numerous charity and community service projects, which include D.