Pat Riley
Appearances
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
that and that's what brought me to this day here is that that's where conditioning was for me it's the most important thing that a coach can do for his players because they can't do it on their own today there's so many more other things mental health and all of these other things that we can help players with but it's our job to get them in world-class shape and if they're in world-class shape I think you're going to get the best performances out of them
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, and they were the best in the world anyhow. Yeah. If I could get the best in the world, Magic, Kareem, Silkworthy, Nixon, Rambis, McAdoo, if I could ever get the best in the world in that kind of shape, then I think they would have been even better. They were good. I remember Kareem when I... When I first got the job and it was a rather negative time with the team.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
We had just won a championship in 80. We got beat by Houston in 81. And then there was a coaching change. I got pushed through the door as an interim coach, and I remember going to cream the next morning. And I said, you know, Cap, and I know him. I played against him in high school.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He was at Power Memorial, you know, and we ended up beating them in a big Christmas tournament in Linton High School. It was conducted in New York, and I was a teammate of his, you know, with the Lakers for a couple of years, and then I became his coach. And I wasn't John Wooden to him. And so John Wooden is a special, special, special man.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I think Kareem had that kind of mind when it came to, if I'm going to be coached, I'm going to be coached by this kind of guy. And I said, you know, Kareem, I'm going to need you. And he said to me, Pat, you don't have to worry about me. I'm going to come every single night. And he gave me a great tip, a great lesson.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He said, but I want you to get all these other guys who sometimes don't come, who sometimes are not in shape.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
them ready go at them hard and i would appreciate that wow he made your job very easy yes he did and you know cap was not one of those guys that that could could really listen to a lot of my stuff i mean he he understood what i was doing there were times i thought that he he said this isn't what it's about and but i think the results showed that we were in great shape and we could win and
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Going to the final seven times in nine years, I think for him that was acceptable. But he didn't need you so much to get better, his excellence? No, he would fall right in line. But he said, I know some of these others because he had been through it for three or four years with some of those players. Go coach them, coach. Go coach them in shape. Get them ready.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I will pretty much handle anything you have to say. And there were times when he looked at me like, bring it on to me today. You know, bring it on to me because I need it. I was terrible last night. And so it was a little bit like, you know, what Bill Russell was to read our back. When in Russell's book, The Second Wind, he wrote of his relationship with Auerbach.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And Auerbach went to him and he said, you know, Russ, I'm going to have to yell at you almost every day. And he said, why? Why me? And he said, because I got to get on Luskatov. I got to get on Heinsohn. I got to get on Cousy. Okay.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, there's no doubt he wanted to be coached. He just wanted to make sure that the people that he played with, those players. that he loved, he loved Magic, he loved the team that we had, but he just wanted to make sure that everybody was right. And so he was equal to that, and he was a supporter of mine for nine years. So when you got great ones that accept you, the really great ones.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You've had a few. And Kareem could be considered one of the greatest ever in a lot of the comparisons. When you got somebody for nine years who supports you, even though he might not agree with you, and that's part of being a coach in an NBA superstars mentality, then then that's you know, that's where the rubber hits the road. There's some conflict there all the time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I had conflict with with all my players, all the players. who had a certain level of greatness, there was some conflict, which is good. And whether it was in L.A. or in New York or here, even in Miami, you know, in the beginning, it could have been with, you know, Zoe or it could have been with Tim Hardaway. It could have been with any of those guys. And I love that first thing.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Teach me in the exchange if we're going to have some conflict like that. Yeah, I think that's important that when you push players physically, More physically than mentally. I never got into their heads that way. I was a storyteller, and most of them were true. I made examples of a lot of things, but most players would follow you. But if you pushed them physically,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
That's why you should continue to keep writing those wonderful articles that you wrote for all those years in the Miami Herald for what you just said. I appreciate that, Dan. I don't take that lightly. I don't know how I accomplished that. I appreciate the fact that you think that I sort of matter in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable. You're right.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I can remember a couple of skirmishes with players who would simply say, don't talk to me that way. Don't. And they were right in trying to drive them or push them to become better at this and to become equal because everybody else was doing it. That was a style that I had for my entire coaching career. I began to mellow as I got older as a coach because I knew how to relay things differently.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You have to remember, I was... I was starving in 1979, 80. I never had these thoughts of where I am today. I was happy to be the traveling secretary and I was happy to be a color analyst with Chick Hearn, but I was starving. I wanted something. to be more than that. And when I got that opportunity, I was ready. I was already ready just because I studied the game. I knew the game.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, I lied to you then in the Rob report. You know, if I said to you, you know, every 10 years you've got to change careers, then I lied to you because I've been in this thing for 57 years.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, when I became a broadcaster the year I left the Lakers and I went to NBC, And I looked at myself on TV after every weekend show. I was supposed to do what you do. I could run a studio show, you know, with a headset. Next to Bob Costas.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Eloquent and wonderful. They didn't even bring Bob in is what they did. They left me alone all summer long with the teleprompter. All they have to do is read the teleprompter. They tried to screw me up a couple of times by knocking the teleprompter on and saying, you've got to ad-lib this opening.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I've never walked across the street only to get putzies or is it putzos? The pizza over here? The pizza.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And they had a couple of beautiful women that they wanted to have a studio show with me and some women. And Julie Moran was one of them. And I'm trying to think of the other one.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Will Obey and Julie Moran were the two that they casted.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
with me and then the first time i i actually went for a dry run uh terry o'neill who's the executive producer and dick ebersole is the one that believed in me and so we have this big dry run out in benize and they built a studio and and all of a sudden they go 10 9 8 7 and they and then boom here we go and this was like you know uh and they're sitting waiting and uh And I just blow the opening.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You just froze. I didn't freeze. I just blew the opening. I couldn't read the teleprompter. And then all of a sudden they did it again. Terry O'Neill walks out to me and he puts his hands on the desk and he said, you know, I think we ought to just call it a day today, Pat, and we'll come back here tomorrow. But I want to spend some time with you this afternoon.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So two weeks later, all of a sudden, Bob Costas does show up. And I was pretty good with a good man that could run. An excellent broadcaster. He was the best of the best.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, he would come in, and Bob was great. He would come in Sunday morning in New York just before we'd go on the air, and he'd put his feet up on the desk, and he'd be reading the newspaper like this. I'm over there like studying my notes. That's so funny, Pat. And Bob was so good for me because he helped me. He set me up.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And we were in Europe one time doing the McDonald's Classic in, I don't know, summertime or just before preseason. And here we go. The countdown. I'm here. And Bob wants me to open it up. And sure enough, the teleprompter goes out for real. And I just see Bob do this. He goes... And he just get out of the way. They came right in tight.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And he just right off the top of his head did three and a half minutes. And I said, I could never do that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I wanted to be good. I'm better at this, but I couldn't be that. And we had the final meeting with Dick and Terry. I was called to Dick's office one Monday after a show. And Terry O'Neill, who I love dearly, is a great executive producer, NFL, all that stuff back in the day. He's laying on the couch over there with his head back on a pillow. And Dick is at his desk.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I walk and I sit down next to Dick. And Dick is fidgety, a little nervous. And he says, Pat, look, we really like you. You're doing a great job. But you've got to be harder. You've got to go after them. Don't be afraid to criticize your coaches. Don't be afraid to criticize players. And just instinctively, I said, no, I'm not going to be that. You know, I can do some good musical pieces.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I can read the teleprompter. I can do three or four minute things. But I'm not going to just brutally criticize somebody. I'm just not going to. I did have the thought that I might, you know, I might coach again one day and And so I didn't want to do that. Plus, that's not my nature.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I remember Dick, when I was explaining this to him, he says, Terry, could you please help me with some input here? And then the Nick job opened up and I was back into my own nirvana at that time. That was my comfort zone. I knew how to coach. I was very good at it. And I don't care where you sent me. I had the confidence that just give me those guys. Give me that team. Give me those players.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, it was Patrick at the time and it was Oakland. It was Anthony Mason, John Starks, you know, Derek Harper, Mark Jackson, Kiki Vandewaard.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, they were real men. I don't say that in contrast to anybody else, but they were real raw. And when we got Xavier McDaniel and Anthony Bonner, it went to another level, you know. And so I loved coaching those guys because, you know, it was— Hand-to-hand combat every night. They loved the defensive end of the court. I loved Patrick. I loved Oak. I loved all of them.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, I'm awed by this, Miami Vice colors all through here, I love it, you know, and I really do, you know, thank you for how you covered me when I first got here, all of the great writers, you know, that's 30 years ago when I came to Miami. Not everybody was a fan. But for some reason, you thought it was a good move for the Heat and Mickey Harrison to bring me here.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I wish we could have won a championship together against Houston in 94, but we didn't. And so, yeah, the Lakers were different. Speed, talent, showtime, and just as tough mentally. They could beat you at a bare-fisted knuckle game if you wanted to be that. It might take a day, a game or two to get used to that because everybody was trying to do that just to slow us down.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Versus the bare-knuckle, you know, fisted, you know, Knick team that came at you every night that way. And so... That's who they were, and that's what I coached. One of the favorite games ever that I coached in with the Knicks was 64-57. That was the score at Barkley. I think it was Barkley. It was there in Philadelphia. That's awful. We won 64-57. That's awful.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I said, we held these guys to 57 points. I mean, today they throw me out of the league.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, I wasn't. I was winning. You see, that's what it took to win. David didn't like it in particular.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I got a weekly call from David or Russ Granik, you know, okay, they started instituting different rules left and right, but I couldn't stop those guys, you know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, the first practice was we had traded for Xavier McDaniel, who I love. It's from Seattle in Charleston. He shows up the first day, and I'm looking at my practice plan. I was very precise with my practice plans, the master plans for training camp, and this was our first day of training camp.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so to define the message via what we're gonna do out on the court about what kind of team we're going to be, the very first drill was going to be a defensive rebounding drill, blocking out. And so we started after we warmed them up and they got a full sweat and we went live and matched up X against Anthony Mason. And I knew what was coming. Everybody knew what was coming.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And there were both men who believed in territorial acquisition. And so it happened.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But you had to do it. I had to get it over with. And it happened quickly. And both of them squared off and they started throwing and. And went from one bleacher to the one. We're chasing them down left and right trying to stop it. And we finally stopped it. And both of those men looked at each other. They shook hands and they said, okay, we understand each other, right? And that was it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And they were great teammates, you know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, no. I mean, Jack McMahon, you know, Bill Sharman, Pete Newell, Jerry West, Dave Chakets, you know, all the executives that I worked with, I learned a lot from them, especially Jerry. and working for him as a coach all those years in LA.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But as far as the arena goes, I go back the first day that I got I got the message from Mickey that David Stern has released me from jail, from the NBA jail, because I don't know if I was going to coach again. Really, he was so upset about me leaving New York and how it happened.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so when I came to Miami and Mickey said that he was gonna hire, and he hired the president and head coach of the Miami Heat, I immediately turned all the executive stuff over to, at that time it was Dave Wohl and it was Chris Wallace and then Randy Fun came in and Andy Ellsberg and I coached. And I was never in the executive office as a basketball operation. I was done with the coaches.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And at that time, it was Stan Van Gundy, Scotty Robertson, and Bob McAdoo, and me, and Ron Culp, and Jay Sable, and 12 players. That's all we had. I kept that tight. That group was tight. And and I kept, you know, sort of an insulated fabric around that group. And it was important to me. So the executive part of it in building the franchise, I don't care who you are as an executive.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I had the power. I never used it. I didn't want to use it. But I had the power. Basically, the players thought I had the power and I could coach. And that's the only thing that I could bring to this team is winning. I mean, I have to take it from the practice court to the old arena, which I love playing that old arena.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And as long as we were winning, the executive things would take care of themselves. Now, while I was doing that too on the side, I was getting tremendous support from the people that I delegated that stuff to at the time. Because I couldn't do both. I was not an executive. I was a coach. And I've learned how to become an executive better. And I've kept people together here.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
We have kept people together here for a long time. It's a great commercial running right now. And it has sort of a religious connotation to it that in talking about teams can win, but families win championships. And I believe that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You have to figure out a way where you can get everybody to buy in, not to just what you're doing on the court, but to really be part of something themselves, where they have a good time, they win, we party, we have fun, we sing. We do videos, we do practical jokes, but that never gets away from when we hit the court, the sweat and the bodies are colliding, and that's the way it is.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So for 30 years, I've had so many people that have helped me along the way, And supported me because my mind was exactly where you said it would be. The Heat became first. I loved that first team. You know, Tim Hardaway, Dan Marley, Keith Askins, you know, Jamal Mashburn, you know, Alonzo Mourning, P.J. Brown. I love that team. I love that team. Another team that's a manifestation of your will.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
They were good. We just couldn't get a bounce here or there. I mean, that's what happened. And that was one of the most painful times for me at the beginning because I wanted to turn this franchise around so quickly. You did.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But that being over with, I remember it started on September 30, 1995, and I remember the first thing I said, take me to the practice facility. and I remember going out to the Palmetto Expressway, and there was this gym out there, and it was actually some kind of a, I don't know, YMCA or something.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Right, right. But there's certain levels of a success, I think. whether it's the first round, whether it's the second round, whether it's Eastern Conference finals or the finals. I mean, if you win it all, it is very, very hard. That's a hard trip for a whole season for any team. And so our level of success was very good based on what it was prior to our coming together here.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And but I wasn't satisfied because I knew we had a team that year, those years that was championship type team. And so for whatever reason, why we didn't get there, I took it very personal and they became.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
some of the darkest years for me at the end of the seasons, you know, after we had lost by a point here or a point there in the finals against New York, it was they were a great team, too, and a very competitive series, always going to the ultimate game and losing. And it's not fun. It just takes you to a place of darkness.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so when I talked about starvation with the Lakers, I was starving for an opportunity to do something to find another path. And this was another form of starving to take this franchise that I'm not saying that it was inept. It was not inept. It just was a team that didn't get anywhere. And so I felt very bad about those endings.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But if you look back on them, they were the things that started the fan base here in Miami.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I don't know either. I mean, the first person who saw me walk out of the locker room was Tim Donovan. He's always standing right there by the stairwell. This is American Airlines Arena. And we had just lost the first year the arena opened and we had lost in the seventh game by a point. And. And it was the first time that I really couldn't talk to my players.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, I mean, for a while I needed to I need a little time. And so I went into my office. I don't believe in postgame meetings with your coaches like immediately. you know, because I got to take care of myself. And so the other coaches went to the video room. We had desks in there and they waited. And I just I just I was in that that office and it all just came down. You know, I don't know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
It could have been, you know, everything culminating from, you know, when I was raised, you know, with my father, what went on in L.A. or at the end, what went on at the end in New York. And And here I am again, losing, you know, failing. And and it's just I was overwhelmed. So, yeah, I just I cracked, you know, at that time. And I do.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I forgot I lost track of time, you know, and but they the tears felt good. They felt great. I just let them go. and uh and then i felt his presence of zoe you know he was he opened the door and and so you know he sculpted you know he's in his basketball shorts and he was standing there like this and he's going And I'll never forget it. He said, coach, I know you're feeling low.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He said, but you got to come back in here and you got to finish the season. And he just filled me up. He said, I know and I can relate to how low you are. He just filled me up. I walked in and they were all in that locker room. A bunch of gladiators, you know, half naked, some still in their uniforms and just sitting there.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I'll never forget when I walked in, they straightened up in their chairs and they just sort of straightened up for a minute for the coach. And, you know, that made me even feel good or better. You know, I mean, that made me feel better because, They knew how hard I took it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And it was my job to make sure I could give them some solace in this moment because we had been through this like three years now.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But that's where I think a lot of people miss what coaches do and what they have to do prior to games and post-games. There are those moments that are definitely seminal moments that you'll take with you for the rest of your life. You'll never forget that time. But you also...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
you know, talk about the adversity of the moment, you know, and I've talked about this all the time, and it's somebody else's writing that in my readings when I was younger as a coach that in every adversity we find and we must find the seed of equivalent benefit. There has to be an equivalent benefit to this failure, to whatever it is, and out of that seed,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You replant it, you replant it, you replant it, and then it might grow 100 feet in a year or whatever it is. And so, you know, failure is just as much a part of the NBA as winning is. And probably it's more... growth-oriented than just winning games all the time. I mean, that's how you grow. You built your business on failure, too, and you built your business on greatness.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I think everybody who gets to where we have gotten to, we all have to appreciate those moments when it was dark and that it was low and that you never felt good about anything. So I have been born out of that Even in the winning in LA, there were moments that were darker than Miami because the expectation was even higher.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Correct? Well, it was funny because on my drive out there, I said, damn, this is like 45 minutes from the Miami Arena. And so when I walked in, I went into the locker room. It was a bunch of metal lockers with a bunch of old guys sitting in there. And it was their place where they would work out. And the players, Billy Owens at that time and Kevin Willis and Matt, all of them,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so here there was an expectation when I showed up and I felt like I failed. you know, those first six years. And then we had to do a two year rebuild. And then we got Karan Butler and then we got Dwayne Wade and we got Lamar Odom and we got Udonis Haslam walk through that door one day and we got Udonis Haslam and we had Eddie Jones and Brian Grant.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And and we put together now the next iteration of what the Heat was going to look like. And then we got Shaquille. He got here and we had to lose some players we loved. But and then we won our championship. And
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
you have no idea the relief you know oh man you know when we won that title you know the one suit one shirt one tie game i call it you know it was the best feeling and we hadn't won i hadn't won for 20 years in the championship and so it was it was the best feeling for not only me but for the city of miami it's almost like it was healing
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But I don't look at it that way.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Right. I mean, that was not a motivational ploy, but that was definitely a message that I wanted to get to him. You know, just like when we were down, you know, to nothing, you know, I wrote on the board 6-20-06. And they all looked at it like, OK, 6-20-06, what is that? You know, and, you know, it definitely wasn't a biblical scripture or anything like that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But I said that date is the first date that we can be world champions. 6-20-06, we're going to be world champions. Get that in your mind. And Gary Payton, I love him to death. I just saw him the other day. He showed me his 15-strong card. It's a credit card. It's not a credit card, but it's a real card.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
15 strong, 250,000 cards we used to put in there and we used to believe that what we put into that pit, that little silver pit every night were more than cards. They had to put something personal in there, rosary beads, your mother's pictures, your family, whatever it is, something that counted was in there.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
They got me at the right time when I was probably yelling and screaming.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, Peyton said to me, OK, coach, I see the date. But how are we going to do it? What are you going to do to help us get there? I mean, he laid it right on me. We're down 0-2 and we did not play well in Dallas. And I said, Gary, if you'll just follow me, we will get it done. I didn't say that with an arrogance or a hubris. It might sound like it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I said, you've got to follow me now from game to game because we did not execute worth a damn down there. We didn't do the things that we talked about doing after we beat Detroit in that glorious sixth game win here in Miami. And for the next four games, then we just turned Dwayne loose. who at that time became the greatest player in the world during those two weeks. He was incredible.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
That's where they came to practice. It was a darkened gym. It wasn't much fun. And so I said there had to be some changes. But there were two men that met me there that day, and it was Keith Askins and Bimbo Coles. And I was not in my coaching gear. I walked into what was the coach's office, and it had no more than four metal desks in each corner with no windows.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
35 a game, averaging 18, 19 free throws a game. God bless you, Mark Cuban. God bless you. I know he was upset with the officiating, but Dwayne earned that. God bless you, Avery Johnson, because you never stopped doubling Shaq. Yeah. But I'm not going to second guess anybody. I'm just going to say to myself that, you know, Gary, follow me. We will get this done.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
On the back of Dwayne, on the great play of Shaquille and Alonso, and then the timeliness of Udonis Haslam making key plays in the fourth quarter of Game 6. James Posey making a three from the corner. And James Posey, who is not a great one-on-one player, getting caught with the ball with three seconds on the shot clock, had nothing to do with it. He put it on the floor and made a runner.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And, you know, and then Gary Payton making a steal or Jay Will making one jumper or Antoine Walker going full court and laying it up and giving a little shimmy on the court. I remember all that stuff. And so when we finally won it in game six, it was just like an explosion of emotion. It was incredible. Everything came back, you know, from all the years.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And it came back for a lot of the players, too.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, you know, I think all of us, we have to be reflective. We have to be introspective. You have to go inside and, you know, and at those moments when it's, it's the darkest, you know, you may go back.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And that's where the coaches were going to meet, and there was a court. We had one room for Ron Culp and Jay Sable, and that was where they taped the players, and that was it. It sounds like the Stone Ages, Pat. It was. I mean, you're not joking. But also, it was a working place.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And, and so, you know, when it comes to my dad, you know, I always go back and flashback because here was a man who, 22 years of chasing his dreams in the minor leagues as a, as a player and then as a manager. And, uh, You know, he won the championship in 1947 when I was two years old in Schenectady, New York for the Schenectady Blue Jays. He had Tommy Lasorda on the team at the time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I remember when I was three or four, you know, I kept going to McNerney Stadium. He would take me out there. And I remember my dad, you know, as a coach. At four or five years old, I remember those days. And then he got fired in 1952, and that was it. That was his career, and it was over.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And he was supposed to get a job with the Philadelphia Phillies as the head coach, and I think it went to Cookie Labagetto at the time, and he was very disappointed. And he went into a real deep, dark place when his career was over with. And so he was very tough on his sons. Lee was a football player. Lenny was probably the best athlete of all of us. He tore up his knee early.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I was a basketball player and a pitcher. Dennis, my older other brother, was more into hot rods and stuff and cars.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
My father was... god bless him 18 different cities hauling six kids around trying to make the best life he could in the 30s and 40s for us my mom was a saint because she had to take care of all of us and my older sister and the older brothers began to take care of Dennis, Liz, and myself. And so it was that kind of time. But I remember my father at a time when he was at his worst.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And it was never good enough. Whatever I did wasn't good enough. Whatever Lee did wasn't good enough. Lenny did wasn't good enough it just show me more show me more and and and I just remember here I did fail again I failed again now I know he's he's passed and he passed when I was 25 years old but I think of my father a lot and uh you know so I had his genes you know from that standpoint
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, I wish he could have been there for all of those good moments. And he wasn't. And so he wasn't there. But, you know, he really, his life and how he lived his life as an athlete and then how he lived his life after ball and what he had to do to keep surviving and supporting his family, you know, was very admirable. You know, the fact that there was a dysfunctional part of him that may have,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
made me look differently at him at the time. I don't now. I understand that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
yeah it was it was a negative energy that we all dealt with you know but it wasn't because he wasn't working or that he wasn't out there trying he worked uh after he got uh you know he got fired he worked at the general electric athletic association at the executive club down there i used to set pins and he used to run the cafeteria and there's a basketball court there and
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And then when he got out of there, he opened up Lee Riley's Variety Store, which was 7 a.m. to 9 o'clock at night. The mom and pop 7-Eleven back in the day that I used to go over and work. The whole family used to work. And so he had a great, great work ethic. But there was a tremendous amount of depression in his life. And I think this sort of ran rampant through the Riley family.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And and so I look at my dad and I just wish that he could have been there, you know, for those titles. He could have been there for the 2006 that he could be here for the court that's going to be dedicated to me. And, you know, but he's not. But he he sees it, you know, from that standpoint. He's a great man, actually. Yeah, he was. Yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah. And, you know, I see it all the time now. And I love seeing, you know, our players with their families. And I meet all the dads, you know, and I meet all the mothers and they're there and they're present. And it's a different generation. Oh, Pat, you've got a mafia family over there.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I think it's my responsibility. It's an obligation on my part to try to build that spirit, that spirit. Whether it's Zoe, Udonis, Bob McAdoo, Keith Askins, Glenn Rice, all of the players that we have kept on. It's a lot bigger than 20 now. They're all part of the family. They're an extended family.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I think it's not always the best because even in real families versus team families, there's always going to be those moments when people get sideways, but that's That's what it's all about. And everybody keeps coming back to the center of the circle. I think that's important because they understand what we're about over there. So, yeah, I think it's up to a son.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
more than ever if in fact there's any kind of a break in a relationship with a parent that wasn't with my mother, to reconcile. It's important for us to remember the good messages and the bad messages that you got in your education, but it's up to the son to come back to a dysfunctional relationship, maybe between a father and a son, and to reconcile. It isn't up to the dad.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
They're too proud, probably. And so I never had a chance to reconcile, but I have. I reconciled with him and all of that stuff. You know, that to me was a very important mental breakthrough when I could finally let all of that go and know that he would be very proud of me and my mother would be very proud of me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I recall my mother, the last days in 2006, actually it was during the playoffs in April that she was in hospice. And I was going back and forth. And the players were very aware of what was going on as I was rushing in and out of practice, getting on a plane, going to Schenectady and visiting her. And the last time I saw her, I remember I said, hang in there, I'll be back. Mom, I'll be back.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I'll be back tomorrow. And she said, get on. Get on with your life. Get on with your life. And I'm good. And I'm okay. And I left. And she passed that night. And we were in Chicago at the time. And I got on the bus. And I remember, you know, D. Wade just putting his hand on my shoulder. You know, Shaq putting his hand on my shoulder.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So it's an extended family because I think we all go through it. And so one of the best things that came out of that was actually humorous because all of the flowers that were sent to my mom's funeral, the red ones I had crushed and I had made into rosary beads, you know, 50 rosary beads out of the flowers. and white and yellow and red.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Right, right. It was probably similar to the first place that you had as a television studio when I had to go out to some warehouse. It was Hialeah. Yeah, those humble times. But Keith Askins and Bimbo Coles, they were standing there. And after I walked around and I said hello to both of them, Keith Askins said to me, he said, could you work us out? And I said, they had a ball.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so when I used to tell the players to throw something personal into that pit, a 15-strong pit, I threw three or four rosary beads in there, you know. Shaquille found out about it, and I remember the night that we won the championship in Dallas. And at the end of the game, we all came in. They started throwing those cards and everything up in the air and around, and I said,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
God, I said, did we take our rings and our rosary beads and everything out of there? And Shaq is down there helping me look for something. And Jay Sable came over and said, Coach, I got everything out of there at halftime. I knew we were going to win. I knew this was going to happen. And so she was there along with my father that day, and I felt great about it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, they cared. They just cared. They understood what was going on at the time, but we had something planned here to win a championship. It was their compassion and their empathy at that time as players that at times, both of them at times, did not like me very much. I mean, they liked me, but they didn't like how I was because I was pretty honest.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
My truth and how I would present my truth, Dan, to the players is not their truth. and I might not even have known their real truth. I knew about all of my players and their backgrounds as much as I could, but I could never get in between what was real and just what was fact, having a knowledge of where they came from. What kind of life.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And... And I'll never forget when he came here, the first thing I did was weigh him. He was okay. He was open to everything. And I knew Shaq had one more in him. I knew he had it in him. And he was 383 at the time at about 14% body fat or more. Shaq is a big man. I mean, he's a 380-pound guy. And so by the end of the year, he was 323 and 12%. That's 60 pounds that he lost.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And the commitment that he made, you know, it wasn't that he was grossly out of shape. He was just Shaq. He was that big. And he could still play big, but he played great. He played better that first year. And we got beat in the Eastern Conference Finals in the seventh game against Detroit his first year here. And he stayed that way.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so whether it was weight or whether it was practice or being on time or whatever it was, you know, Dwayne was the consummate professional. And I never had a problem with any kind of weight or body fat with Dwayne. He was off the charts physically and athletically in his discipline. But he had a tough road to hoe when Dwayne grew up. He's told his story a lot, so I don't have to talk about it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I said, well, I don't have my shoes on or anything. And he said, just put us through an hour workout. And I put him through an hour workout. And up and down, all the defensive sliding drills, driving line, post line, suicide, shooting drills. Never did they stop sweating or running for one hour. And I was like drenched, you know. And so I said, I like this. I like them.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Tremendous compassion and empathy for his story and how he got away from being sucked into that life.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And look at him today. I mean, the guy can do a game show on TV. He can do almost anything. He is so creative, so versatile. I'm so happy for his success, Shaquille's success, and the fact that they've become even more honest. to the public about their lives.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
They do. And that's what happens to us when we leave the game. And they'll find out there will be another stage in their life when they get into their 60s that they'll feel even more compassion and empathy for a lot of things.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so, you know, as we go back to what I was when I got here, you know, if I told somebody at 29 what I was like versus I'm 80 and they're 29 now, is that I don't take like I used to from them. I never took their money or anything. I didn't want to. I mean, I never, I didn't want to find people. And but I took a lot of possibly sometimes their pride and their ego.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, ego to me is the acronym is edging God out. There's got to be a spirit that comes from within. You don't have to be religious, you know, to have that kind of ego. I always use the acronyms also of, you know, all of the time you're either an ot, a sot, or a not. an all-of-the-time great player, a some-of-the-time great player, or a none-of-the-time great player.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so I'd walk in and, you know, well, you're going to sod it today, right? Is that what it's about? And then they say, no, I'm a not today. I'm going to go sit in the corner over there. And so you can have a lot of fun with your great players when they come back at you with some truth. But But, yes, they're much better at broadcasting, but I think all of us get a little bit truthful.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So I don't take that now from the team. I'm totally separate. I believe in Eric and what he's done and how he's expanded his coaching staff and his mentality about coaching. the generational player today and I approve wholeheartedly that he's on the right track in that he's going to be one of the all-time great coaches you know and I'm glad we're able to have that kind of continuity so
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I'm not like I used to be. You know, players are not afraid of me anymore. You know, they used to be a little bit afraid of me. And, you know, I can have, you know, decent conversations, you know, with players without warning them or threatening them or any of that kind of stuff, which I don't want to do.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He had them right from the beginning. Every now and then, I have a pretty good track record and a pretty good... you know, reputation. And so I think, you know, as soon as I promoted Eric, he had to make sure that he could stand up against me or stand up to what it was that I wanted versus what he wanted. And so from the beginning, I still at that time was a control freak.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I like the fact that they would respond to me and ask me that question. But, yes, I came from royalty in Los Angeles. I mean, the best of the best that helped pull me along in my career. And New York was an exciting, exhilarating place. You know, fun place. MSG is just a great place to play basketball. But when I came to Miami, we had to change things. Practice facility.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I still thought I was a coach and i was going to control things and the more and more i let go of that control of the coach and what he did on the court who he hired and how he's going to run things the better it became for eric and and now i i feel totally confident that he knows what he's doing at a very high level even more so than i today in the contemporary game and so i totally trust him
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And that's part of it, you know. I mean, trust is probably the number one ingredient that any leader must have from his players. But also, you have to... There has to be a real true sincerity in that trust that I or Eric don't want anything more out of the players that is going to benefit me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I want them to get out of the game what they really desire, and I want him to get out of the game what he desires, as Mickey wanted me to get out of the game maybe what I desired, not just for his own benefit. And so the sincerity part of trust is so important. And competency, you know, comes with experience.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You can be competent because you're in the video room where you worked with me for three or four years. But now you're out there in front of everybody. And so, you know, I try to control that a little bit in the beginning. And so he became more and more and more competent. And when you have competency, players will say, I will let you coach me. You know what you're talking about.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I know how hard you work, and I know what you're saying is believable, so I will let you coach me. If you're lying to them and you're not competent, they'll figure you out in a moment. You don't work at it. You're not good enough. I don't believe what you say. And they won't play for you. I mean, he is highly competent. And he's very, very reliable. At the end, you have to be reliable.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But in this business, you can't be totally reliable because it's a harsh business. You might have to trade somebody. And I used to tell the players that. You know, you and I can...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
have trust and sincerity and competency and all that stuff and at some point i might have to trade i might have to trade you you know but what do the fights look like with eric like over the years uh the arguments the disagreements no i think i think uh distance you know in silence is okay It's okay for a while. Just let it simmer.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, and it's okay. Yeah, it's okay, but it's not the most mature way to communicate. No, it's not. But in the beginning, it was, you know, to communicate by having a no-talk, you know. And so, okay, it was good.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
As I said in the beginning, I think a lot of times coaches who followed me, if I was still in the organization, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. But I had to let go of that. in order for Eric to really grow in his first two years, and he made the playoffs his first two years, I thought that was a great prep runway for the big three. So he made the playoffs the first two years.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Ron Culp and Jay Sable changed that in a year by getting a place at LaSalle. And then I remember... Still a high school, by the way.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Dwayne was almost MVP. Michael Beasley was drafted. And then we got a chance to get the big three and we got him. And then And then he made his mark as a hell of a coach for, you know, four finals and two world titles. So in the beginning, I might have been a little bit harsh with him with my comments.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But, you know, whether he responded to me verbally in the right way didn't make any difference to me. I started to see the results on the court and in practice, and that was enough, you know. And so now... I don't have to say anything. What I'm seeing every day, I love.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I don't know. I don't know. I think when you're put in a position... of responsibility. And you have this image. I've talked about this a lot, that you have this image. I'm a dreamer. I always have pictured what it would look like again to win and how it would feel. I did that in Los Angeles six times. And so I had great experience, you know, with how that feels.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I also had great experience with how hard it is to get there. And I don't care if you are a coach or a rock star like Springsteen or it all starts somewhere and it manifests itself over the years into real greatness. As a team, as a band or whatever. And so, you know, I had this image and I had to relay that image every day to the players and to the staff.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
about what it was going to look like when we got there and but they had to believe in it themselves because if they don't believe in it then it determines your behavior as as as a player if you see that like i see it it inspires them as players if they see the image like i explained it to them and it it fuels their motivation to try to get that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I try to get that across to the players all the time. And when I do speak to them via examples, I don't talk to the players that much as a group like I used to. stand up in front of them, put their backs against the wall, and give one of those 20-minute talks. I don't do that. Spoh does a hell of a job with that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But that's why I think when it comes to you having control is that you have to have a sense of ownership in that image. So that control.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Without a doubt, we were survivors. If my father gave us one thing, all of us, is you're on your own. And when we all got the opportunity to leave, we left. We went to different cities. We didn't stay in that city and become, you know, work for whatever. We didn't become. We just went. You outgrew what could have been a very small life. Yes. And we were fortunate.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, I got a scholarship to Kentucky. I was good in sports. And had I not been good, I probably would have ended up in the military, most likely. And I didn't, you know, because I had four years at Kentucky. And the Vietnam War was raging. The most formidated years of my life were 1960 to 1970, 15 to 25 years old when it was all about civil rights. and young people in this country.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And it was all about, you know, the war and the hatred for the war back in the 60s. And so, but I was, you know, I was climbing. I was surviving. I mean, while all that was going on, you know, I was in, you know, in high school becoming great. I was in Kentucky becoming great. I went into the NBA. I thought I was great. And then I found out I was average. And And all of that was going on.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I was very conscious of it. But when you're in that survival mode of trying to make it to be recognized for something, you know, I wasn't paying much attention to it, even though I was probably being formed, you know, by all those things that were happening in our world at that time. And it seems like it is today, damn, the same way.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, I found out a lot, you know, about basketball. those relations. Two of my heroes in high school were Jackie Washington and Ray Young, both black players that played. They were seniors when I was a sophomore, and I loved both those guys.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Winnie Winfield was on the team at the time, and so I was used to having friendships with black players, African-American people that's connected in New York. When I got to Kentucky, there was no There were no black players around anywhere. And we used to play against teams up north that that had a lot of African-American players.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But, you know, when we played Texas Western in that game, I was not thinking much about the fact that they were an all black starting team and we were an all white starting team. I didn't think much about it at all. This was a game to try to win the national championship. And And I never forgot how it felt when we walked out onto the court for the center jump.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
They had David Lattin, Bobby Joe Hill, Austin Artis, Harry Flanoy, and Neville Shedd, Neville the Shadow Shedd. That was their starting lineup. And I just remember walking out on the court And, you know, we nodded at one another. There wasn't a lot of, you know, just lined up.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But I felt that just by looking into their eyes that they were playing for a hell of a lot more than the NCAA championship. I just felt that. They dominated us. The very first play was a lob to David Lattin who dunked it over the top of me. And they beat us like a drum that day. Not like a drum, but they beat us pretty handily in the second half. And I remember the joy that they felt.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I mean, losing an NCAA final is bad. And so I felt... miserable. I cried on the bench. I remember going into the locker room and shaking their hand. Louis Dampier went in after the game to shook their hand. And, you know, the funny thing about that, I created a relationship with these men over the years. And when I got into the NBA, I'd be walking out after a game, going down some hallway and then
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, it had to be first class. You know, it has to be for the players and also for the fans. Mickey was wide open to changes. He had a side job at the time. He was building the largest cruise line in the industry. And so he said to me, do what you have to do. Started with the practice facility. Then it started with, you know, the office space for basketball operations. They moved the SunTrust.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Hey, Pat, you know, it'd be Willie Cager, it'd be Neville the Shadow Shad. Harry Flanoy, who actually was their starting power forward, worked for the Lakers when I was coaching in the sales department. I didn't even know about it. He was too embarrassed to come and talk to me about it. And so when Jerry Bruckheimer did the movie Glory Road, I got to meet all of those guys again in New York.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And we had a ball. We related. And I remember Neville saying at the end of the credits, I just remember him saying this at the end of the credits because they had their feelings too and we had ours.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And he said, I just wish we as men, you know, back then at that moment when there was so much crisis going on in our country with race relations and that we could have gone down and shook each other's hand and hugged each other. I remember him saying that at the end of the film. And well, I got more than enough hugging, you know, at that premiere. And then I got invitations on a regular basis.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I never went down. Don Haskins, their head coach, they would like honor that team like every year, you know, in El Paso, Texas. And they wanted me to come down. And I got to the point where I knew them well enough where I said, oh, oh, so you want me to come down and be your foil again, right? And, you know, and
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
troll me a little bit on we got you guys and so i'm actually proud dan now that i was part of a game that was historical that became a game that that integrated uh sports in the south bob mcadoo When he came to the Lakers, and obviously he's been with us for 30 years now, and when he came to the Lakers as a player, and we were stretching one day, and he was just to the team.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He came up to me after the practice, and he said, you know, The reason why I went to North Carolina, and he's from North Carolina, the reason why I went south and went to the ACC in North Carolina is because Texas Western kicked your ass in 1966. I said, Bob, if that's the reason why you got to here, I'm happy about it. I actually feel good about losing.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
That's about the only time that's ever going to happen. But I felt that I didn't feel the significance of it at the moment because writers wouldn't really write about it that much. Everybody knew how obvious it was, but it was a turning point that integrated all of the South when it came to scholarship African-American players. It was just great. It was a great time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yes, I met my standard in 1968. Yeah, her name is Christine Carolyn Rodstrom. People don't know the romantic side of you. Married 50 years. No, 57, whatever it is. I remember I was selling season tickets for the San Diego Rockets, and I had this nice...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
bright blue suit on white shirt with a nice tie uh season tickets back then were 410 for a pair so i'd get 41 for every two i sold i was in a kiosk on the mezzanine of the san diego sports arena it was summertime they were playing uh basketball games on the floor they had a league and
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I'm at this kiosk and I see this woman walk across the mezzanine and she had this beautiful summer dress and it was swaying in the breeze as she was walking and then she actually walked towards me and came over to the kiosk
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And we had our own little place at LaSalle. And then it started with the new plane. You know, we had what they call Jalopy 1 and Jalopy 2 back. They were prop DC-9s, I think, at the time. And Mickey agreed to getting us probably the most important item.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
friend who was with her and played for the San Diego Chargers and and he introduced me to her and you know then I took a look into those those hazel eyes you know and that warm smile and I And I said, you know, and this was it. That was it. Because I had never been in love, ever. And I was awestruck. On sight. I was determined. I was determined to find this beautiful person. And I did.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And it started with a walk on the beach. And it started with an ice cream cone that we shared, Neapolitan ice cream cone. You're such a sucker for love. Yeah, it started also with long drives in my Corvette. But no, long drives in that Corvette during the sun and underneath the stars.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And listening to Motown, because that was our music, and it's still our music today, with the exception of the boss, who I let in every now and then. But she has been the rock. A lot of husbands will say this, but she has been the rock. She gave up a career...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
to become mrs coach and she has been as important to my success i don't just say this because she's my wife raising our family and all of those missed opportunities missed that i I missed because I gave so much of the game that she took up the slack so I met my standard then and she's my standard today but when it comes to the game I've reached I think what that standard is
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I know there's no such thing as perfection.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Not anymore. I used to be. And you saw it up raw and personal, but I'm not anymore. I mean, when you get to be my age... I feel good. I can, I think, still give a lot to the heat and to players. But my life is more full than it ever has been with James Patrick Riley and Connor James Riley and Elizabeth Marie.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
that we got was a new plane a 727 with the red ball the heat logo on the back and it was parked at signature you know and every time opposing teams would come in they would see this plane i heard that players used to run out of their plane and run up the stairs we used to leave the stairs open and they'd run up the stairs and they'd take a look at it oh my Oh, my, I mean, it's pretty nice.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yes, and she's just as OCD as I am. So that's a good match right there because she just is great in that detailed part of life and trying to make everything right for us in a family. But at this stage of my life, that OCD behavior is still there. I'll give you one of the habits that I always do. Just prior to training camp, all my training camps, I would go down and clean out the garage.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Every minute I wasn't making a master plan for training camp or a practice plan, just before we would start training camp, I was in the garage. reorganizing, cleaning out, throwing things out. Now I do it in my closet. It's the same kind of OCD. I can't go to training camp until that closet is perfect. Throw it away, whatever.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
We all have these little quirks that we do that we know it's time, whatever it is. It's not taking the last vacation. You know, and I'm a big, big, big, big-time music guy who steal all the lyrics, you know, from the greatest bands. Oh, you find great inspiration in music.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
It changes me. It changes me. I mean, these are great, great writers, these songwriters. And some of the words in their lyrics that you hear, my God, you know, I relate to that song and the music, you know. And so, yeah, I'm a music buff. I'm not everything. You know, Kareem used to be, you know, an aficionado when it came to jazz.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
His dad, I think, played an instrument and turned Kareem on to jazz at a very young age, you know. And You know, I remember listening to doo-wop music and the first song that I heard on radio was by the Skyliners, you know, singing Since I Don't Have You in 1955. And it's when I had a crush on this girl in seventh grade.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so, but when Motown hit my life in the 60s with the Four Tops, Miracles and Temptations, forget it, I found... Just my imagination running away from you. I just remember all those songs. That song, Just My Imagination by The Temptations, takes me back to 1971. Will Chamberlain, Happy Harrison, and myself, we were walking out of a hotel in San Francisco.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I got into the cab and they both got in the back seat and it came on the radio, the song. And I started singing it out loud. And I knew all the words. And Will says... Where did you what do you who are you like this kind of music? Right. I said, absolutely. I said, have you heard this song? He said, no, I haven't. They had just come out with it, you know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So, yeah, music has has played a big part, more so than even reading.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so, as a matter of fact, one of the greatest players of all time that we have here said that, that really said, I'm going to go to Miami one day, you know. And so, and yes, I think you have to build a place that your players are proud of, that the staff is proud of. And, you know, and that does really, I think, multiply exponentially into getting done what you have to get done.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, you think about one's mortality at this age. You don't think about it when you're 20. You think you're going to live forever. I lost my father when I was 25, but I never thought much about my own personal mortality at the time. But a lot of my really, really dear friends that I've known for a long time have passed, and really close.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
and you begin to think about it and i think about those moments that that we've been together and just the other day a picture popped up of a very dear friend who passed two years ago and we used to go on these cruises together and and the first thing we would do is we would bring our little boom box, our Wi-Fi Bluetooth box with a playlist.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And every time we went on a trip, he would make a new playlist and I would make a new playlist.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
before dinner every night he and i got up there a half an hour early just to play the playlist he'd listen to one of my songs i'd listen to one of his songs we'd have a martini before all the other guests came up and and and so you know he's gone and i really miss miss him and it was a long distance relationship but it was it was always a relationship and so
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, when Jerry West, you know, passed, it was very difficult for me. And one of the reasons why, you know, I kidded Mickey about, you know, a little bit about what he's doing. He and Nick and the Harrison family, Mickey and Madeline, you know, Nick and Kelly and Jenna and Ronnie. You know, for Mickey to do this, you know, and to bestow this honor.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
incredible honor on me, it's very uncomfortable for me. That's not something that I like. When Tim Donovan, you know, would let me know that I was coach of the year, okay, thank you. So what do I got to do? Well, David Stern wants to give you the trophy at halftime. I said, no, let's do it in the back room somewhere away from everybody and we can get it on video.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And finally, David called me on the phone. He said, no, we are doing it at half court at halftime. You understand, Riley? That's the relationship he and I had. And that's the relationship he had with everybody. And that's Mickey. When I said, Mickey, I'm not going to do this. And Mickey finally said, you are going to do this. We are going to do this. Do you understand? We are doing this.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I want to do it now. And Nick and I have talked about it. Madeline, we want to do this for you. And I absolutely just broke out. And it just took me back to that time again. It always does. So it's a wonderful honor to have that, but I still got a lot of life left in me, and I'm kicking. I'm not killing you yet. I'm not killing you yet.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But Miami embraced that. on me and they embraced me even more i think uh with the immediacy of the headline in the miami herald that said one month after we got here morning glory you know and i'll never forget how i felt then driving down to the miami arena knowing there was a press conference uh for alonzo morning we traded for him and And, man, I was ecstatic. And I said, this is the start.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I think about mortality because we all do at this time when you read about those people that you know, you've seen, you've watched, you've admired that leave us early, and maybe it's not early. And especially when they're dear, dear friends. You just can't stop going back to those moments you spent together.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, I always try to—you know, we always talk into the eye, you know, vernacular, eye, eye. We have built something, you know, really built something. But— You know, Nick was going through a deck of marketing things that they were trying to accomplish this year. One of them was the new scoreboard, and he showed me that. And some new partners we have, you know, Robin Hood now is our patch.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And Kaseya is obviously the name that we put on the building. And then he got, oh, we're going to do this with the court. And I looked at the court. I said, I like those colors. That's great. And then I just looked away. I said, what's next? And he pushed it towards me. And he said, look at the court again. I looked at it again. And I said, that's fine, Nick. I said, I like the colors.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And then he pushed it to me again. And he said, no, look. Look right in front of the scores table. And then I saw it. As soon as I saw it, boom, they came, you know. And they come in a flood. They just flood. They just flood out.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Even now in front of, you know, Nick, you know, who's the CEO, who at one time, and I don't like to kid about this anymore because at one time he was a ball boy in the huddles listening to me cursing all the time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yes. And I couldn't help myself. It just, I just, the... It's too big for Pat. That's how I looked at it. And I don't need it. I don't want that kind of attention. And I really don't. But I'm going to take it. And I love the fact that Mickey and Madeline, Nick, Jenna, Kelly Ronnie, the Harrison clan, the family, especially Mickey, would do this.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So, I mean, I wish I could do something for him in return. And I actually said, Mickey, damn it. Mickey and Pat. Let's put Mickey and Madeline, Pat and Chris, court, whatever it is. I'd try to get out of it any way I could, but he wouldn't have it. He's been a blessing for me, Dan.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He's like a brother to me. We have a great relationship. when we go out and we have, occasionally, both of us don't drink like we used to drink, but when we go out and have dinners together and we would reminisce, we'd laugh like hell, man.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Absolutely. You know, and, you know, I mean, you know, Mickey and I are not like, you know, cuddly huddly, you know, kinds of men, you know, but I think we have this genuine, deep respect. Very repressed, the both of you. Very repressed.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
depressed yes okay cavemen who bang into each other yes you get your psychology i'm just saying i'm just saying like you guys hardened by a lifetime in sports i don't know whether you would tell each other you would love each other but him putting your name on that him putting your name on the court is an act of love yeah no it definitely was i felt it and chris felt it so uh she's geeked about it because she always thinks that i turn down too many things and uh
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But it's going to be a great night for me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
This is the start. And that team got off to an 11-3 start. And probably the most embarrassing headline that I was involved with is Sports Illustrated. It said, who's hot, who's not? And it had a picture of me on one side and Don Shula on the other side. And I called Coach Shula and I said, I'm embarrassed by it. I apologize for it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Oh, absolutely. No, I was trying to create not a brand, but... I was trying to create the image of what a coach should look like on the sidelines. And you did. And you did. And I did. And the fact that I became GQ or whatever it is or Armani this, tremendous respect because I think all coaches should conduct themselves.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
If you're running the most important part of building a multibillion dollar team, organization that that front man has to not only present himself in a manner that people will be respected, but he has to present himself in press conferences and everything in a way that they will have respect. Well, back in the 80s, I would agree to go on a GQ magazine or I would agree to do commercials.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I would agree to do those things, but no more. Write books. You were writing books. I wrote some books, and it was a terrible time for me to be writing those books because the players didn't like it. And I said some things in those books about things behind the scenes, not bad, but that all of a sudden, you know, Pat is the guy that's in the middle of that circle. Yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I felt it, and I didn't want that. And I stopped doing all those things. When I came here, I did some things that I had to finish up in New York, and I brought them down here to Miami. But I stopped doing commercials. I stopped being in the center of everything because that's where the players should be. And I think a coach has to be around the periphery
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, it's like Sisyphus, right? You know, you stop pushing that rock uphill. You think you're the only one that has to keep pushing the rock up the hill. And then there's people behind you that's pushing the rock up the hill the same way. And, you know, so, you know, I stopped trying to be the only one pushing that rock up the hill. That really was, you know, the players and everything.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I had enough. I was a little bit embarrassed by all of that kind of attention I was. I have not become media shy. I just don't do media because it's not my voice anymore. It's Coach Spoh's voice who's in front of me. the media three, four times a day. I don't want to get in the middle of my opinion. It could be different than his. And you know how that takes off virally in a negative manner.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I'm sure they'll pick something out of this interview to do that. I'm waiting. I'm waiting. I'm not going to end it until I get it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I trust that you will edit this in the proper manner of due respect in a 30-year relationship that we have. Trust. It's an interactive relationship, Dan, that you and I have that brings about a result, which is friendship.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
That's, you know, because the Dolphins weren't doing that well at the time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, not really that. It's just that I think it's important to keep the family tight-knit. And so the family's expanded from 20 people in 1995 to over 150 people. And so the family gets bigger and bigger. And You can't control all of that, and you shouldn't want to. Generationally, it's already 30 years, so that's three generations of people that have changed from that standpoint.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so I don't know what the one thing that I have to say to you that you're going to say, ha-ha. That's it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
a lifetime dedicated to sports excellence I the cost has been obviously probably some of my health mental health physical health to estrangement probably with friends over the years in the cost
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
has been not to say yes to a lot of things that that that normally uh i wouldn't you know and quite frankly since i've been here in miami with the exception of a few and i don't even mind those few i've been treated uh extremely well by the media uh even the media today who continue to cover uh the ones that have been here 30 years with me you know too They've criticized me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
They've been fair with me. They've been objective because we've had some pretty bad years here. And so, you know, I've had a trust with all these people and it doesn't bother me, you know, when...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
when i get criticized uh anymore it used to bother me maybe that's why i would shut the media out and that's why i would nickname them peripheral opponents because they they can at times uh even the best of the best you know bring a team down they could divide a team you know and i know on social media today that that can happen
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
a lot and well I don't talk that much about it to the players today because I think they're mature enough and they're different in a way that I think they think they can handle all the social media stuff but it does become a major distraction oh I don't know how you adopt to today's player I don't I have no earthly idea I haven't talked to you about this but I don't have any idea
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Like, I... I would've handled it differently, there's no doubt, but I can. i can uh the the the the players who want to express themselves in a way that you know is absolutely anti what my beliefs are in representing an organization whether it's to you know to to grow a bigger brand to make more money to to go out there that you know separates themselves a little bit from the pack
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So there's nothing you can do about that. The league wants it. Content is king. And I have found that out, that trying to keep the media out, the commissioner won't allow that. Access is what it's all about. And so players' personalities today, the younger generation is just different than it was when I grew up.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I grew up, and I think most of us my age, grew up at a time when our parents were harder, if we had them. If we had what they would call the nuclear family. It was hard, but it was different. There was... Even if it was a stone-cold house, there was love there.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, I respected Don Shula and who he was, what he accomplished, especially as a coach. I mean, I read pretty much everything about him. I actually think maybe at one time my brother might have played with him.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You had a place to go home every night, and there were two parents that cared about you, that provided for you, that maybe they didn't love you like you wanted them to love you, but it was different. And I'm not saying today's player is not that, but it was harder, and we understood that. And so I understand this generation of players and how they want to
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Go about living their life is different in the music they listen to and how they brand themselves and what they wear and how they dress It's might be a little bit more flamboyant than what I want, but that's who they are and and I respect that but if there's a difference Be who you want to be, but in one of the great biblical terms, render unto Caesar what is his.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And when his apostles, when the apostles were trying to give all of their money to our lord and savior jesus christ he said no pay caesar what he wants what he is and then give it to other people and so as players they have to render unto the heat really what is theirs too and while they go out there and they do all these other things you can't short cut it with us and so
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I've actually explained this to the players, is that while you're under contract to us, you do owe us something. Your collective bargaining agreement contract says that, and so don't ever take that lightly. And we have a very cooperative group of people, but...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
yes yeah i i feel like i i owe and i have to render unto uh to mickey he's my boss you know i don't do it in any other way other than with respect and i i feel the same way about the players when i ask you about the cost of excellence where do you have regret on what the cost was
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
i'm never going to apologize to my players for being tough never that's who i was that's how i was coached that's how i was raised that was my approach but i also had a tremendous compassion for him even when i was tough on him so If there's one regret that I might have, it would be a familiar regret of not being there really enough. for my kids. The schedule just makes it almost impossible.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
My brother played, you know, nine years in the NFL, AFL, you know, back in the day, but he was a special coach and a special person in the city, and so I never wanted that at all, but I hoped that one day I could maybe reach the level of a Don Shula in this area, and, you know, 30 years later, maybe the both of us are there, and so, but that wasn't the goal, never was the goal, but I wanted to get off to a good start, and then we did, and then
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I know it sounds like an excuse, but even long distance, there wasn't FaceTime back then. There wasn't any of these things where you could really contact them other than a call at night. Talk to Chris, put Elizabeth on for a minute, put James on for a minute. We're chasing our dreams.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
out there still and that that to me and and also you know not being around you know chris as much as i you know at that time too and traveling uh And that's why I don't travel now that much, because I don't want to be away from her at this age. And he's got the trips. He's got the road trips. And he mixes up the road trips now by going and seeing the Eagles or Springsteen or something.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, well, I'm not a maniac, but I was definitely preoccupied. You can call it whatever you want, describe it.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
matters the most is the most right yeah so you know when when you come to you know that thought process i'll steal another quote don't know who the author was uh a man or woman's right greatest fear is their fear of extinction but what they should fear even more than that is to become extinct one day with insignificance
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And what that always meant to me is that all I ever wanted to do in my life is something that mattered and counted. And I did that in sports. I didn't do that as a husband.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
and or a father as much as as i wish i could have so that's that's something that we all talk about when you talk to long time life coaches they would at my age all of them say the same thing i wish i i could have you know i i'm you know nick saban you know uh dick bennett You know, I mean, these coaches that are getting out of college basketball that are great coaches.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And they were asked questions why they're leaving at such an early age. And they're all talking about. I always felt that my job as a coach was to develop young men, was to help them grow. And when they graduate from my university, that they're ready.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And this NIL or this portal or all the things that are going on in college sports right now has driven some of the greatest coaches from what their passion was and what they thought they were doing
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
But Chris and I figured it out. I mean, we figured it out and you understand it. So, I mean, just the nature of the job for 57 years is that our life was from September until the end of the season, April, May, June.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
you're in this life and it could be a wonderful orient express ride or a train wreck and you have to go through that and your your life is owned by a schedule and you have to work everything around that schedule that's all there is to it and so You know, when you have that kind of schedule and then your vacation time is simply from August to September 1st and that's it every year.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Bam! Adversity hits, you know, from that standpoint. And I think you learn so much about trying to build something from the ground floor up. You really do.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Because you're winning late into the season, every season. It's like one big run on.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Sometimes, you know, sometimes, you know, the whole winning in misery thing, I think, is just a saying about trying to accentuate. to your players, look, I'm going to tell you something. There's winning and there's misery. And there's no in-between. All this joy crap and all that stuff. Winning, it's not even joyful. You win to get to the next game.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And if you lose, you're miserable and you're more anxious to get to the next game to win. And so... I hate to have sort of created that message today because it's not that way. But I can tell you, once the season was over with and you go down the rabbit hole for a week or two if you didn't win, I'm a pretty joyous man, and we have a lot of fun, and I can leave a lot of that behind me.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
It doesn't mean that I'm not making some trade. in the middle of the Mediterranean, a five-team trade, you know, or whatever it is. But I've learned over the years to be able to lighten that load on my mind to live a life of normalcy. You're not as obsessed as you used to be. No, I'm not. But I'm not. And I'm glad I'm not. I can't be. But I'm still totally engaged.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, success to me now is health, happiness, hunger. and humility the four h's to me that's what i would call it i mean that if i can be successful that way right now at the stage of my life and obviously you know winning will make all of that easier i think your priorities definitely change. My work priorities are still the same.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I'm not this kind of person that I was when I was trying to survive and climb and achieve and all those things. And I could walk through the office at the American Airlines Arena at the time when it was called that and not talk to anybody. You know, it didn't mean that I disliked them. I'm walking to my office and there's tunnel vision
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You know, I'd always say good morning to Karen, you know, my longtime executive assistant.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
meant that you had to be totally lopsided as a human being on where your compulsive obsessions were like you couldn't be thinking about much of anything else the job required too much of you i agree with you on that and i was that i remember mickey one time you know we're talking this is i don't know back in maybe 2004 or three or whatever it was and
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Those weren't, you know, very good years for us after we made the major trade and broke up that first, you know, Tim and Zoe team that he was talking to me. We were having dinner and we were laughing. And he says, you know, he said, you know, when you walk around the office and we're starting to expand now at the arena and especially on the business side.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
In the beginning, I would tell all of those 39-year-olds and 59-year-olds that stop taking so much from the game because all I ever took was their effort. I took their heart. I took a lot of times their mind. I took everything that I could in the name of winning for them, for me, because I thought it would be in the best interest of everybody if it was that hard. Merciless, merciless, aggressive.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, could you just say hello to somebody? And I'd say, am I not saying hello to people? He said, I don't think so. And I know I nod when I walk by them, but it's not personal. It is never personal. It's just I was always in a hurry to get to work. I was always in a hurry. I had something in my mind. I had to get it out. Do you know where that comes from?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
The fear, we all have a fear of not making it. So when my career was over as a player, it was over. And my best friend at the time, And I called him. I had a knee operation. But I felt I had another year left in the league. And Jerry West became the head coach of the Lakers. And that training camp was going to start in October. And I called him that summer.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
He had just lived in my house while I was at Phoenix. And he got married to Karen. And he got married to Karen in 78. But I called Jerry his first year of coaching. I said, let me come to training camp, try to make the team. I'm going to make good contract. And he said, no. This is the thing about Jerry that I love. He was honest as hell, man. He was honest and truthful. And he said, no.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I was taken back a little bit by that. And I said, you know I can help training camp. He said, no, you're done. You were done. And then he explained to me something. And this is how he thought. I had filed for a workman's compensation disability policy that the NBA had just put in that would give you 40% of your salary if you retired with an injury, and you'd get it for three years.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And so I had that, but I couldn't play again. If I played again, that would be gone away. So he said, Pat, don't lose that three years of income for getting cut in training camp. And so he knew it, and he was looking out for me because he knew I wasn't good enough to make his team. And he was very blunt with me about, you know, you're done.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I retired, and for a year and a half, Chris and I had probably some of the most miserable moments of our life. What are we going to do next? And then I got the call.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Nine years was over with, and now what am I going to do next?
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Oh, we both had a good time. We went to the beach every day. I had a 1974 GMC van with flames on the side and we used to go up to, we'd go to the beach every day and play volleyball and sunset and go across the street to a Mexican restaurant and then we would have tequila. Doesn't sound like starving, Pat.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, and then I got a call from the Lakers and they hired me as a traveling secretary and color commentator and I'm here today because of that, yeah.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I haven't read it. I haven't read it because I'm not on any social media site, not one, and I don't care because I've had my ass kicked by the Celtics enough when I was coaching, and they're a great, great team, and they put together a great organization. They put together a great team. They have broken all the records financially too, so they've committed themselves. New York has gotten...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And they're going for it. Philly's going for it. We're going for it, too. We're going for it. And this is an important year for the Heat. So I don't worry about what critics say because maybe I am. Maybe I should go somewhere and just sort of put my feet up. But I would then become very compulsive, obsessive about doing something else. And you don't want me in that state of mind.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I wasn't absolutely merciless. We had a lot of fun.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Maybe I will take that 600-page, 11 by 17, written in pencil on legal yellow paper and I'll find that in storage and go back. I got a media company. I'm making movies now. They're not 600-page scripts. It was nothing but verbal diarrhea when I quit, when I retired. And I spent a year and a half just writing, just writing. And when I read it, it disgusts me about how I talked about
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I don't even want to get into it, but it's not worthy of a book. But there's a lot of different thoughts in there that I might revisit one day.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, I was wallowing. I was wallowing.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah. No, I just wrote. That's what I do all the time. Every single one of my... practice plans, game plans on blue card stock, is dated, then the very first line is emphasis for the day, message for the practice, practice plan, and then there would be, in the message, there might be only three points. I would only always talk about three things. Everything's in three.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
If you want to be great, you need work ethic, okay? You need to be competent and you need to be truthful. Keep it simple. Everything was threes. And so if I were to go back and think about something that would be really You know, consequential for me, if I was to ever retire, I wouldn't worry about sedentaryism. Is there a word like that? You wouldn't worry about being sedentary. Sedentary-ism.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Well, everybody almost in the league who were coaching at the time, you know, that was sort of the mentality. Did I take it to another level? Yes. And it's born out of a personal experience. And so to get to the end of what I want to talk about is that, yes, today I've changed, you know, from that standpoint because this generation simply would not tolerate that. But I remember how I started.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Okay, well, you just made it up.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I will put my feet up. I'll definitely put my feet up, and I'll have a Pantalone's. It's a tequila, you know.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
No, I don't drink red wine anymore. I got 3,000 bottles, but I don't drink it anymore. So I, you know, one little glass of tequila with a little olive juice in it, and I'll sit, and I will...
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
listen listen to now i'm listening to teddy swims okay yeah he wrote a great a great he's 31 years old um got got a voice like you know chris stapleton like you know like post malone like bruce he's got the michael mcdonald voice you know and and he just wrote an album called i've done everything but therapy yes you gotta you gotta pick it up you gotta listen to it
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I got to see him in Colorado at Dillon Park. It's a small community up in the mountains, a 2,500-seat amphitheater. I went with my son-in-law, Paul, in Colorado. And it was this little amphitheater overlooking this lake. It was just a magical, wonderful night. And he came out on the stage, and for two hours, captivated me. So those are the things that I'm gonna be doing if I ever retire.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I'm gonna be chasing. You've done everything except therapy. You've done everything except therapy. No, I tried it. It lasted five minutes. I walked in and Chris set it up. I want you to go talk to this person in L.A. because my wife was a marriage family counselor, so she used therapy. Maybe that's why we lasted 57 years. But I walked into her office. I sat down.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And the first question she asked me, tell me about your father. And I got up and walked out.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So thank you for giving us the time. And congrats, my man, because you have gone through the stages of where you were. Look at all this South Beach Sessions. I love it. Yes, right across the street from you. Thank you.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
I'm going to give this to you, though. You got the gold pass. Okay. Ira has the gold pass. Anthony has the gold pass. For being here a long time? For being here since the beginning? Tim Reynolds has the gold pass.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Guys that have been around forever. Joe Rose, I don't get to talk on morning radio anymore. The gold pass.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Yeah, I think most of those men are long gone, but we're not there anymore. We're in this beautiful palace, this billion dollar piece of property called the Kaseya Center. that somebody decided to put Pat Riley's court there. So I'm going to take it and have a good time.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
It's because how you treated your dad, Poppy. You always had a soft spot for that.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And when I started as a player, as a journeyman player for nine years in the league, I was not a great player. I was drafted number seven in the NBA by the San Diego Rockets. But when I got to Los Angeles, You know, I remember Bill Sharman gave me the message of a lifetime when he told me, he said, I like you as a player. I didn't have a contract.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
You're coming to training camp and you have to be the best conditioned player. You have to win the mile run. You've got to win all of our suicide sprints. You've got to win this, that, everything. You've got to be first and everything. And if you do that, I think there could be a place on the roster.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
So I'm saying to myself, all I have to do is be in great shape to have a job with the Lakers and West and Baylor and Chamberlain and that group. And so obviously that summer I went and did a job like nobody else ever did a job with the help of Bill Burtka, who was the assistant coach at the time. And I came to training camp. And then Fred Chouse, who was the general manager, he says to me,
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
Okay, your job, you'll make the team, but your job is to keep West and to keep Goodrich and to keep McMillan in shape every practice.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And it started with me. And so, you know, Jerry at 40 minutes a night and Gail at 38 minutes a night and Jimmy McMillan was a 21-year-old rookie. And he was about 230. So I'd come in every day and Bill said, take Jerry today. And I'd take Jerry and some days he would be tired and I'd have my way with him.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And the next day he'd come in and he said, okay, okay, if this is your job, then I'm going to kick your ass. Then he would, like, throw me in through the whole practice. He said, I really needed that. Thank you. And so, you know, the silver lining to that, Dan, was the fact that I was challenged just to get in shape to make the team.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And I was challenged to play against three of the greatest players, you know, in the game at that time. That it made me better. I became a better player. By doing that and not deferring to them. And then I started to get into the rotation. And then one day there was a headline in the L.A. Times that said, you know, the magnificent seven.
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
And they had the faces of all seven players on this 33 in a row game winning streak championship 71-72 Lakers. And I was one of them. And I always go back and I think about that.