← The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz
South Beach Sessions - Pat Riley
02:19:56
NBA icon Pat Riley opens up to Dan Le Batard about his legacy, shaping Heat Culture, glory days with Kareem and the Lakers, changes in the game and relationships with LeBron, Wade, Shaq, Spoelstra, and more
Loading summary
Transcript279 lines
- [00:01]
Dan LeBatard
You know what's smart? Enjoying a fresh gourmet meal at home that you didn't have to cook. Meat. Factor your loophole in the laws of mealtime. Chef crafted meals delivered with a tap, ready in just two minutes. You know what's even smarter? Treating yourself without cheating. Your goals. Factor is dietitian approved. Chef prepared and you plated.
- [00:22]
Pat Riley
Pretty smart, huh?
- [00:23]
Dan LeBatard
Refresh your routine and eat smart with factor. Learn more@Factor Meals.com.
- [00:46]
Unknown Host
Welcome to South Beach Sessions. I'm super excited about this one for a number of different reasons. First of all, legend of legend has come across the street finally. It took you many, many years of negotiations. You've walked across the street and the Godfather comes over to studios he helped build. Okay, Me and my dad built a business near his business, and he trusted me with his story, and he was always there to help me in a number of different times over the last 30 years, for reasons I don't totally understand, perhaps he'll explain them to me. But he built dynastic basketball radioactive things in three different cities. The biggest cities, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. And then he comes down here and he makes Miami matter. He is basically top Don Shula as the greatest sports coaching leadership icon we've ever had in this city. And for 25 years, you're the only reason that Miami basketball has been what it is in our city, representing excellence in our city. So thank you, Pat Riley, for making the time and thank you throughout my career for helping me any number of times and ways. And I will say in another way, whenever I had some major life decisions to make around life and death stuff, I got the wisdom of songs, music, poetry, inspiration, history. Pat Rally has been a bit of a life coach in some of my more challenging moments, pushing me into the deep end. So thank you for being here, and I'm just grateful in general for 30 years of being able to work near you.
- [02:21]
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. You know, 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. I've never walked across the street only to get pootsies. Or is it puzzos or the pizza over here? The pizza.
- [02:55]
Unknown Host
Yes. You come for the pizza, but never for a journalist. You would never walk across the street. That military compound that you have built over there, that is the symbol of excellence in the city because only basketball, only excellent things come from that place where eight seeds, not enough playing games, not enough. You put the standard.
- [03:12]
Pat Riley
Yeah.
- [03:12]
Unknown Host
Up here, what you've built over there, even you're awed by it, are you not?
- [03:17]
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, you know, to bring me here. But as far as the arena goes, you know, I go back the first day that I got, you know, 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, but, you know, 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.
- [04:28]
Unknown Host
It was adjacent to a hospital. Yes, but wait a minute. So you're coming from Mecca, New York, the height of basketball showtime. And we put your first Miami Heat practices in, like a adjacent, very small high school type gym. Say, welcome to the big time.
- [04:43]
Pat Riley
Thank you.
- [04:43]
Unknown Host
You're in Miami, Pat Riley, and you've arrived in a place it's laughably bad conditions. Correct.
- [04:49]
Pat Riley
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. And the players, you know, Billy Owens at that time and, you know, Kevin Willis, you know, and Matt, all of them, you know, they were. That's where they came to practice. It was a darkened gym. It was. It wasn't much fun. And so I said there had. There had to be some changes. And so I. But there are two men that met me there that day, and it was Keith Askins and Bimbo Coles. And I was not in my coaching gear. You know, I walked into what was the coach's Office. And it had no more than four metal desks in each corner with no windows. And that's where the coaches were gonna meet. And there was a court, and we had one room for Ron Culp and Jay Sable, and that was where they taped the players, and that was it.
- [05:50]
Unknown Host
And it sounds like the Stone Ages passed.
- [05:53]
Pat Riley
It was.
- [05:53]
Unknown Host
I mean, you're not.
- [05:55]
Pat Riley
But also, I could. It was a working place.
- [05:57]
Unknown Host
No, but it's ridiculous for all the things that you've been over the years. Sorry to interrupt you, but you are more Schenectady than you are hollyw. And you put on the Armani suits, and you developed a leadership style that has been copied by many. And you've won everywhere it is that you've been. But when you got to Miami, you had already conquered in Los Angeles. You'd gotten very close to New York. What you were arriving at was very small time under who it is you were supposed to be. And because essentially the heat sort of tampered to get you or however the messiness was that made David Stern say, you can't do that. You can't go from New York to Miami. Mickey Ariston can't do that.
- [06:36]
Pat Riley
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. You know, it was highly. Yeah, those humble. Those humble times. But Keith Askins and Bimbo Kohl's, 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. I said, well, I don't have my shoes on or anything. And just put us through an hour workout. And I put them through an hour workout and up and down, all the defensive sliding drills, you know, 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, 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. New York was an exciting, exhilarating, 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. Ron Culp, J. Sable changed that in a year by getting a place at La Salle. And then, I remember, still.
- [07:59]
Unknown Host
Still a high school, by the way. Nicer. Nicer. But for people to understand what part of Miami you were going for and through. You come from something that is beneath you because it's a hospital gym. Then you improve to something better that is still at a high school on the water, but still not Madison Square Garden, not the Forum. And you're building it into the empire it would become. I don't think people understand, Pat, just because perhaps they take you for granted what the degree of difficulty was on what you've made this franchise for 25 years, importing everything you learn in Los Angeles and New York to make this a city that mattered in basketball for a quarter century.
- [08:42]
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, 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 DC9s, I think, at the time. And Mickey agreed to getting us. Probably the most important item 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. And so, as a matter of fact, one of. 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. 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. But Miami embraced me, and they embraced me even more, I think, 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 for Alonzo Mourning. We traded for him, and, man, I was ecstatic. And I said this is the start. This is the start. And that team got off to an 113 start. And probably the most embarrassing headline that I was involved with is, Sports Illustrated is in 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. That's, you know, because the Dolphins weren't doing that well at the time and it was hot.
- [11:09]
Unknown Host
If I may, just offering the context to this story, I can't believe you still feel this badly about this all these years later, but you're respecting the legacy of Don Shula. You come to his town and after an 113 start, Sports Illustrated puts on the COVID don Shula's not hot. Here's the hot new thing in town. And on behalf of Sports Illustrated, you didn't have anything to do with how that happened, but you were so embarrassed that it sticks with you 30 years later. Because you know how hard it is to build excellent things in a city and you need to respect them.
- [11:39]
Pat Riley
Well, I respected Don Shula in 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. My brother played, you know, nine years in the NFL, afl, you know, back in the day. But. But he was a special coach and a special person in the city. And so I never wanted that at all. But I hope 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, 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, and 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.
- [12:30]
Unknown Host
You really do the things you have learned. The 79 year old Pat Riley looks at the 39 year old Pat Riley and the 59 year old Pat Riley and tells him what? From over here.
- [12:45]
Pat Riley
In the beginning, I would, I would tell all of those 39 year olds and 59 year olds that stopped taking so much, you know, from the game because all I ever took was their effort. I took their heart, I took a lot of times their mind. You know, 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 and so merciless.
- [13:17]
Unknown Host
Merciless, aggressive.
- [13:19]
Pat Riley
Wasn't absolutely merciless. We had a lot of fun, you know.
- [13:22]
Unknown Host
But what you're looking back on, you were very hard on those players and men, demanding more, demanding better at every turn.
- [13:30]
Pat Riley
Well, everybody. 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 from that standpoint because this generation simply would not tolerate that. But I remember how I started, 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. You're coming to training camp and you have to be the best conditioned player. You have to win the mile run, you got to win all of our suicide sprints. You've got to win this, that, everything. You got to be first and everything. And if you do that, I think there could be a place on the roster. So I'm saying to myself, all I have to do is be in great shape to have a job with the Lakers in West and Baylor and Chamberlain in 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 Schauss, who was the general manager, he says to me, okay, your job, you're gonna make the team, but your job is to keep west and to keep Goodrich and to keep McMillan in shape every practice. That's your job.
- [15:14]
Unknown Host
So you're coaching already. You're already coming up through the system as a coach. Your job is to make sure that everybody is the fittest, healthiest, best physical version of themselves.
- [15:23]
Pat Riley
And it started with me. And so Jerry at 40 minutes a night and Gail at 38 minutes a night. Jimmy McMillan was a 21 year old rookie and he was about 2:30. 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. And the next day he'd come in, he said, okay, okay, if this is your job, then I'm gonna 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. 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 LA Times that said, you know, the magnificent seven. 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 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.
- [17:12]
Unknown Host
But looking back at the 39 and 59 year old Riley, this Riley, the only inch that he's budging is, well I still work them like that but today's generation, like they won't allow me to, to. I mean what, what you were putting, what 39 year old Pat Riley was putting the back to back Lakers in terms of fitness level, you were changing, you were, you were changing the balance of the league. You were changing the, the, the way that basketball was played at the time. And you were exceedingly demanding in ways that I would imagine this Pat Riley would endorse. But also see with clarity that was an unreasonable push thrust that you were giving a bunch of players who were already giving you their best.
- [17:55]
Pat Riley
Yeah, and they were the best in the world anyhow, you know, so if I could get the best in the world, Magic Cream, you know, Silk Worthy, Nixon, rambus, you know, 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, and it was a rather, you know, negative time you know, with the team, we had just won a championship in 80. We got beat by Houston in 81. And then. And then there was a coaching change, and then 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. He was at Par Memorial, you know, and we ended up beating them in a big Christmas tournament in Linton High School in Schenectady, New York. And I. 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. And so John Wooden is a special, special, special man. And. And I think Kareem, you know, 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, great lesson. He said, but I want you to get all these other guys who sometimes don't come, who sometimes are not in shape, get them ready, go at them hard. And I would appreciate that.
- [19:35]
Unknown Host
Wow. He made your job very easy.
- [19:37]
Pat Riley
Yes, he did. And, you know, Cap was not one of those guys that. That could really listen to a lot of my stuff. I mean, he understood what I was doing. There were times I thought that he said, this isn't what it's about. But I think the results showed that we were in great shape and we could win and go into the final seven times in nine years. I think for him, that was acceptable.
- [20:04]
Unknown Host
But he didn't need you so much to get better.
- [20:07]
Pat Riley
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.
- [20:17]
Unknown Host
Go coach them. Coach.
- [20:19]
Pat Riley
Go coach them in shape. Get them ready. 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, because I was terrible last night. And so it was a little bit like what Bill Russell was to Red Auerbach, when in Russell's book, the Second Win, he wrote of his relationship with Oyerbak. And Oyerbak went to him and he said, you know, Russ, I'm gonna have to Yell at you almost every day. And he said, why? Why me? And he said, because I gotta get on Leskatoff. I gotta get on Hindson, you know, I gotta get on Cousy. So.
- [21:01]
Unknown Host
Oh, so Karim helped you coach him and helped you coach them by doing all the things that were needed. This was a very deep, philosophical man. He comes from John Wooden. It's not just that he's coming from a philosopher poet. He's also coming from sort of a moralistic high school teacher. And then he meets Pat Riley, whose fire burns differently than John Woodens.
- [21:23]
Pat Riley
Yes.
- [21:24]
Unknown Host
And you're very eager right now to prove yourself after your playing career that you can do this, that you're worthy of coaching the Lakers. So you come at him hard and he lets you in and show me coach. Coach them.
- [21:38]
Pat Riley
Oh, he wanted to be coached. No, there's no doubt he wanted to be coached. He just wanted, he 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, you know, was right. And so he was equal to that. And, and he was a supporter of mine for nine years. So when you got great ones, you know, that, that accept you, the really.
- [22:04]
Unknown Host
Great ones, you've had a few.
- [22:06]
Pat Riley
And Kareem could be considered one of the greatest ever in, in a lot of the, you know, in a lot of the comparisons. But 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, the rubber hits the road. There's some conflict there all the time. 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 LA or 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.
- [22:49]
Unknown Host
And I love that you and Zoe have both told the stories of Zo being in your face, you being face to face, rabid with each other, and your response being some form of, I don't mind if you say fuck you to me. Just teach me something. Teach me in the exchange if we're going to have some conflict like that.
- [23:06]
Pat Riley
Yeah, I think that's important, that when you push players physically, more physically than mentally, I never got into their heads that Way, you know, I was a storyteller, and most of them were true. I made examples, you know, of a lot of things. But. But most players would follow you. But if you push them physically, 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. And so 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. You have to remember I was starving in 1979. 80. I mean, 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. I wanted 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.
- [24:41]
Unknown Host
I knew you're starving because your playing career as a professional was over. Right. Whatever the height of athletic greatness was going to be was now in your rear view mirror. So now you are starving for what you're going to be in your 30s. When I. When I say that you've been good at life advice, Pat, I will tell people here now that one of the first articles I wrote in Miami that was a national splash was about you on the Rob Report. You have always been super trusting with your story, with me, in ways I'd like to understand better, because I've never really understood why you've always helped my career along the path. But in this story, you said that in the ideal evolution of what somebody will do with their life in their profession, you'd ideally change careers every 10 years to keep yourself inspired and motivated in your 30s. Go from this to your 40s to this. Totally different careers. Doctor, lawyer, nobody can do it. It's not practical. But over the course of my career, heeding that knowledge, I have changed my career every 10 years within the parameters of what I do here. From writer to radio to television to now a businessman trying to run a business. And along the path, many times you've given me excellent advice in those spaces. And I just wanted to tell you that here. And I wanted to say it publicly, because I don't think people understand quite how much depth you have beyond basketball, because I admire you for basketball reasons. They're obvious. But. But you know a lot about living and Dying and living well and trying to live in an inspired place and pushing yourself beyond reasonable means so that some of your life becomes either winning or misery. Obsessive compulsive, pushing through, still doing this somehow at 79 and still showing us the way in inspiring ways. I'm sorry if I yammer at you a little bit, but I do want, over the course of this, for people to understand that my admiration for you runs deeply beyond basketball. Like basketball is just the beginning of how it is that I feel about you, because you've got real life wisdom after a life well lived.
- [26:50]
Pat Riley
Well, I lied to you then in the Raw Report. You know, if I said to you, you know, every 10 years you gotta change careers, then I lied to you because I've been in this thing for 57 years. Yeah, but you've changed.
- [27:01]
Unknown Host
Yeah, but you've changed throughout it. You have changed. You have changed. Not everyone makes it look like this, Pat. Within the serpentine. You've changed care every 15 or 20 years.
- [27:12]
Pat Riley
Yeah. 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 every weekend show, I was supposed to. Supposed to do what you do. I could run a studio show, you know, with next to Bob Costas.
- [27:28]
Unknown Host
Bob Costas will lead the show, and you'll be the star next to him. Eloquent.
- [27:33]
Pat Riley
They didn't bring Bob in is what they did, is they left me alone. And 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 and saying, you gotta ad lib this opening. And they had a couple of beautiful women, you know, 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.
- [28:00]
Unknown Host
So this is Showtime, NBC. Pat Riley's broadcasting career. He's about to shoot to superstardom and broadcasting.
- [28:07]
Pat Riley
Willow Bay and Julie Moran were the two that they casted with me. And then the first time I actually went for a dry run, Terry O'Neill, who's the executive producer, and Dick Ebersol is the one that believed in me. And so we have this big dry run out in Benais, and they built a studio, and all of a sudden they go, 10, 9, 8, 7. And then boom, here we go. And this was like, you know, and they were sitting, waiting, and. And I just blow the opening.
- [28:40]
Unknown Host
You just froze.
- [28:41]
Pat Riley
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, and then they couldn't. 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. 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's the best of the best.
- [29:10]
Unknown Host
You wouldn't have to do anything.
- [29:11]
Pat Riley
No, he would come in, and Bob was great. He would come in Sunday morning in New York, just before we 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.
- [29:25]
Unknown Host
That's so funny.
- [29:26]
Pat Riley
And Bob was so good for me because he helped me. He set me up. And we were in Europe one time doing the McDonald's classic in, I don't know, in summertime or just before preseason. And here we go. They count down. 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. And he just, right off the top of his head, did three and a half minutes. And I said, I could never do that.
- [30:05]
Unknown Host
That's so funny that you would work with the best of the best. Keep in mind, this is one of the great television talents that there have ever been. But. So you felt like a bit like a cardboard mannequin next to him, sort of faking. But even though you were there to be style and grace, were you not there to be beautiful? Pat Riley, coach of fashion, Fashion icon. You were gleaming on television, but you stunk at broadcasting.
- [30:28]
Pat Riley
I wanted to be good. You know, 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. And I walk and I sit down next to Dick. And, you know, Dick is fidgety, a little nervous, you know, and he says, pat, look, you know, we really like you, you're doing a great job, but you gotta be harder. You gotta 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, I can read the teleprompter, I can do three or four minute things, but I'm not going to just brutally criticize, but I'm just not going to. I did have the thought that I might, you know, I might coach again one day. And so I didn't want to do that. Plus, that's not my nature. 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 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. 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 Vandewen.
- [32:09]
Unknown Host
I can't even imagine how hot that fire burned. Like, I can't imagine if I don't. When I say 39 year old Pat Riley, 59 year old Pat Riley, how much pushing. Those are hard men. You were coaching a different bunch. That was the Lakers. I mean, I know all teams have their personalities, but that team was, it felt like a manifestation of your will, your muscle.
- [32:34]
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, you know, 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. 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 knuckled game if you want it 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. Versus the bare knuckle fisted Nick 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 to 57. That was a score at Barkley, I think it was. Barkley was there in Philadelphia.
- [33:54]
Unknown Host
That's awesome.
- [33:54]
Pat Riley
We won. 64, 57. It was a masterpiece.
- [33:58]
Unknown Host
You should be ashamed of yourself for.
- [34:01]
Pat Riley
Doing that to basketball. I said, we held these guys to 57 points. You know, I mean, today they throw me out of the league.
- [34:06]
Unknown Host
No, because you were dragging the games in the quicksand.
- [34:08]
Pat Riley
No, I wasn't. I was not. I was winning. You see, that's what it took to win. And David didn't like it in particular.
- [34:15]
Unknown Host
But it was brutally ugly, and you know it.
- [34:18]
Pat Riley
But a weekly call from David or Russ Granick, you know, okay, they started instituting different rules left and right, but I couldn't stop those guys. You know, the first day of training camp, my first practice to Charleston.
- [34:32]
Unknown Host
Your team was too physical for the NBA. That. That was a blight on the league's ass. A 64, 57 game that's making you smile right now because of how ugly it was.
- [34:45]
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. And so to define the message via what we were going to do out on the court about what kind of team we were going to be. The very first drill was going to be a defensive rebounding drill, blocking out, you know. 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. I knew what was coming. Everybody knew what was coming. And they were both men who believed in territorial acquisition. And so it happened quick.
- [35:40]
Unknown Host
So, okay, everyone knows you're throwing, you're lobbing two grenades at each other, but.
- [35:45]
Pat Riley
You had to do it. I had to get it over with. And it happened quickly. And both of them squared off, and he started throwing and went from one bleacher to one bleacher. 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. And they. They were great teammates, you know, but.
- [36:10]
Unknown Host
I don't think people understand the intensity of the fire. Pat, I want to talk to you about a number of things over this because we can get nostalgic. And I don't want to. I don't want to waterlog it in that because I want to talk about some of the deeper stuff.
- [36:24]
Pat Riley
You would waterlog it?
- [36:25]
Unknown Host
Believe me, I would. Yes. It wouldn't be hard for me to do because those teams were uncommonly tough. And you are proud of. Because when you say you haven't changed, those are three very different things you've built over those 30 years. Coaching is different from being an executive. Like, you have changed. You have grown over the last 30, 40 years over who you've been as an executive. You brought all of that that you learned in Los Angeles and New York. You brought it to Miami, and you're still here fighting at 79, when it would be very easy to just go to Malibu and rest. You've earned rest.
- [37:08]
Pat Riley
No, no. I mean, Jack McMahon, you know, Bill Sharman, Pete Newell, Jerry West, Dave Checketts, you know, all the executives that I worked with, I learned a lot from them, especially Jerry and, you know, working for him as a coach all those years in la. And so when I came to Miami and Mickey said that he was going to hire and he hired the president and head coach of the Miami Heat, I immediately turn all the executive stuff over to. At that time, it was Dave Wohl and it was Chris Wallace and then Randy Funn came in and Andy Ellisberg, and I coached. And I was never in the executive office of the basketball operation. I was done with the coaches. 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 I kept 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, 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. 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, you know, 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, you know, better. And I've kept people together here. We have kept people together here for a long time. There's a great commercial running right now, and it has sort of a religious connotation to it that in talking about, you know, teams can win, but families win championships. And I believe that you have to figure out a way where you can get everybody to buy in, not 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, you know, and that's the way it is. But 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, Lonzo Marnie and PJ Brown. I love that team. I love that team.
- [40:24]
Unknown Host
Another team. That's a manifestation of your will. Another.
- [40:29]
Pat Riley
We just. We couldn't get a bounce here or there, you know, 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, you know, so quickly. And you did. We did.
- [40:42]
Unknown Host
You turned it around. But not to your standards. No, but you placed the ridiculous you expected for some reason. It's the standard you've set in Miami. It's not reasonable. The standard is the championship, is the games that you want to be playing. And so you getting to the first and second round with not being able to get Michael past Michael Jordan. This was great indignity to you to not be deep in the playoffs.
- [41:05]
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. But I wasn't satisfied because I knew we had a team that year, those years, that was a championship type team. And so for whatever reason why we didn't get there, I took it very personal. And they became 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 very competitive series. Always going to the ultimate game and losing. And it's not fun, you know, it's just. It just takes you to a place of darkness. And so when I talked about starvation, you know, 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 the team that didn't get anywhere. And so I felt very, very bad about those endings. But if you look back on them, they were the things that started the fan base here in Miami.
- [42:39]
Unknown Host
Oh, but you have talked so eloquently about this over the years. I remember during all of these games, it's some of the best writing that I did was you allowing me access around you to some of these feelings where you're saying game seven is the greatest way to live. What happens at the end, they're not going to hang you by the thumbs in the middle of town square. It's a higher form of living. And you have let me into some of these dark places because I remember you volunteered to me and I don't know why you did this. I still don't know to this day. You volunteered the story outside the locker room. You were broken at the time. You were still smoking cigarettes. Only when stressed. Only when stressed. And that Nick stuff was stressful. All that shit was stressful. It looked stressful from where I was standing. And you volunteered the story of breaking down sobbing at your desk and Alonzo Mourning coming in in uniform and standing over you and tell you to do your fucking job. I never understood why you volunteered that story.
- [43:40]
Pat Riley
I don't know either. I mean, the first person who saw me walk out of the LOC room with 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 it was the first time that I really couldn't talk to my players. I mean, for a while I needed a little time. And so I went into my office. I don't believe in post game 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. It could have been, you know, everything culminating from, you know, when I was raised, you know, with my father, what went on in LA or at the end, what went on at the end in New York. And here I am again, losing, you know, failing. And it's just. I was overwhelmed. So, yeah, I just. I cracked, you know, at that time. And I do. I forgot. I lost track of time, you know, but the tears felt good. They felt great. I just let him go. And then I felt his presence of Zoe. You know, he opened the door, and Zoe sculpted. He was in his basketball shorts, and he was standing there like this, and he's going, I'll never forget it. He said, coach, I know you're feeling low. He said, but you got to come back in here and you got to finish the season. And. 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. And I'll never forget, when I walked in, they straightened up in their chairs. They just sort of straightened up for a minute for the coach. And that made me even feel good, better. That made me feel better because they knew how hard I took it, 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.
- [46:19]
Unknown Host
Everyone knew the team was going to be broken up after that. Everyone knew they'd given you everything that they had. They lost as a one seed to an eight seed on bounce, and so it becomes a failure at the end. They're broken in that locker room. When you're saying it's your darkest, you're going out there, and you've got to summon something for them now.
- [46:36]
Pat Riley
But that's where I think a lot of people miss, you know, what coaches do and what they have to do, you know? You know, prior to games and post games is 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, 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, you replant it, you replant it, you replant it and then it, it might grow 100ft in a year or whatever it is. And so 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. 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. 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 Dwyane Wade and we got Lamar Odom and we got Udonis Haslam walked through that door one day and we got Udonis Haslam and we had Eddie Jones and Brian Grant 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 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 the best feeling for not only me, but for the city of Miami. It's almost like it was healing, you know. And so.
- [49:16]
Unknown Host
Oh, but this is why I was joyous. This is why I say though that I have a special admiration for what it is that you've built here. By any standard. Your first years here were successful by a reasonable sports standard, trying to build a thing in Miami. But you had come from. I play in the finals every year I play, I'm always in the Eastern Conference finals. I'm always in the Western Conference finals. You've. All you've done is won at a higher level than what you were winning in Miami. Like anything. So you're so your standard is unreasonable, is it not?
- [49:52]
Pat Riley
Maybe, but I don't look at it that way.
- [49:54]
Unknown Host
But so you think you're failing for six years and you don't feel like you've succeeded until finally the one. The one suit, one tie game. That was because you. You were just going back to Dallas and you didn't plan on playing any more than one game. You were up 3, 2 in the final, and you were saying, we're going there to finish a series that people were expecting you to lose there.
- [50:14]
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, two nothing, you know, I wrote on the board, 6, 2, 0, 6. And they all looked at it like, okay, 6, 2, 0, six, what is that? You know? And, you know, it definitely wasn't a biblical scripture or anything like that, but I said, that date is the first date that we can be world champions. Six, two, zero, six. 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. You know, it's a credit card that we all. It's not a credit card, but it's a real card. 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.
- [51:17]
Unknown Host
That locker room was a bit religious. There's a picture of you with your arms extended. That's a bit Messiah.
- [51:25]
Pat Riley
They got me at the right time when I was probably yelling and screaming.
- [51:28]
Unknown Host
That was the start of the cult. The cult and culture started where you're all of a sudden now your championship. Riley in Miami.
- [51:36]
Pat Riley
Well, Peyton said to me, okay, 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 02 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. I said, you gotta 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. We talked about doing after we beat Detroit in that Glorious six game, you know, win here in Miami. And so. 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. 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.
- [52:39]
Unknown Host
God bless you, Avery Johnson, because you never stopped doubling Shaq.
- [52:42]
Pat Riley
Yeah. And, 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 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 six. 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. And you know, and then Gary Payton making a steal, or J 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, and so when we finally won it in, in game six, it was just like an explosion of emotion. It, it was incredible. Everything came back, you know, from, from all the years. And it came back for a lot of the players too. Yeah.
- [53:45]
Dan LeBatard
This is a message from sponsor Intuit Turbo Tax guys. Taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you're going to get any money back whatsoever. And then waiting, wondering and worrying some more. Now taxes is matching with a TUR expert who can do your taxes as soon as today. An expert who gives your taxes their undivided attention as they work on your return while you get real time updates on their progress so you can focus on your day. An expert will find your every deduction possible and file every form, every investment, Every everything with 100% accuracy, all so you can get the most money back guaranteed. No waiting, no wondering, no worries. Now this is taxes. Get an Expert now on TurboTax.com only available with TurboTax Live full service real time updates only on iOS mobile app. See guarantee details at Turbo guarantees. Hey, Happy New year friends. It's 2025 and a new year can mean new opportunities for a lot of you out there. I imagine you spent the last couple of weeks sitting and thinking how to make your 2025 special different and set yourself in the Right direction. One way that you can do so is actually by following my boss Dan LeBatard's path and starting your own business. You might have a lot of questions. How do I get started? How do I come up with a brand? How do I sell stuff to people? What am I even gonna sell? Just take a deep breath. Shopify has got you. Shopify makes it simple to create your brand, open for business and get your first sale. Get your store up, running easily with thousands of customizable templates. No coding or design skills required. All you need to do is drag and drop. But I know you're thinking, what happens if I don't act now? Will I regret it? What if someone beats me to the idea? Don't kick yourself when you hear this again in a year because you didn't do anything. Now with Shopify, your first sale is closer than you think. Established in 2025. Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com but all lowercase go to shopify.com but to start selling with Shopify today. Shopify.com Batard.
- [55:44]
Unknown Host
Tell me about these emotional explosions of yours. Because over the years, I've sort of probed around in some therapy places. You just said that when you were crying at your desk. A catharsis of tears that went back to your childhood and your relationship with your dad. Like, what were the number of. I'm gonna call them failures, or what are the pains? You're all grieving at that moment where Pat Riley is allowing himself to feel most deeply. Because that's what this risks. It risks a loss that comes with that kind of pain where you realize you have to turn over your roster and men you care about are gonna have to be gone. Cause you've gotta start over again.
- [56:22]
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 the darkest, you know, you may go back. And so, you know, when it comes to my dad, you know, I always go back and flash back. Because here was a man who, at 22 years of chasing his dreams in the minor leagues, has player, and then as a manager and, you know, you 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. 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. And he was supposed to get a job with the Philadelphia Phillies as the head coach. And I think I went to Cookie La Jetto at the time, and he was very disappointed. And he went into a real deep, dark place, you know, when his career was over with. And so, you know, he. He was very tough on his sons. Lee was a football player. Lenny was probably the best athlete of all of us who tore up his knee early and. And I was a basketball player and a pitcher. Dennis, my. My older, other brother, you know, was more into hot rods and stuff and cars and. But.
- [58:03]
Unknown Host
And you were good enough in football to be drafted as a cornerback, correct?
- [58:07]
Pat Riley
My father was my father, 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, you know, and so it was that kind of time. But I remember my father at a time when he was at his worst, and it was never good enough. Whatever I did wasn't good enough. Whatever Lee did wasn't good enough. Whatever Lenny did wasn't good enough. It just show me more, show me more. And I just remember here, I did fail again. I failed again. Now I know he's passed, and he passed when I was 25 years old, but I think of my father a lot, and, you know, so I had his genes from that standpoint.
- [59:14]
Unknown Host
You and I have talked about some of this privately. I don't know that you've resolved all of the stuff that you have as it regards to how you were shaped by your father and how you're driven because of your father. And I find this to be the seeds of who you are.
- [59:31]
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 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 made me look differently at him at the Time. I don't now. I understand that. And so you've always seen.
- [60:10]
Unknown Host
Forgive me, if I tell the parts of the story to the audience that they might not know. You always saw nobility in his janitorial work. But there was. There was a darkness around him, having failed to get to his dreams that came into your home. There was like. Like him. There was an unhappiness in him that was brought into the home. An energy.
- [60:30]
Pat Riley
Yeah, yeah, 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 after he got, 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. And then when he got out of there, he opened up Lee Riley's Variety store, which was 7:00am to 9:00 at night. Mom and pop, 7:11. 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, you know, but there was a tremendous amount of depression in his life. And I think this sort of ran rampant through the Riley family. 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 sees it, you know, from that standpoint. He's a great man, actually. Yeah, he was. Yeah.
- [61:46]
Unknown Host
Proud of his son, I would say as well. But what you're saying is he never got to see the things that others would. That he never got to see. See what the rest of us got to see, which is Pat Riley has spent his last 50 years conquering sports like. Like, I mean, doing. Reaching the very height of all the good things that can be reached in your sport.
- [62:06]
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.
- [62:20]
Unknown Host
Oh, Pat, you've got a mafia family over there. Like, you've got your. What you have over there. You, you did at the beginning, what in the first years of Miami, you said a 19 or 20 knit group. You tied it up tight. You're Not a terribly trusting person. That group is a lot bigger than 20 now, like that you have. You've extended to family members so that you're trying to build something that is your own. You have built something that is your own personal religion over there. It's the religion of basketball, and it comes in service of all the things that you've built over 50 years and all the things that you've learned over 50 years.
- [62:54]
Pat Riley
I think it's my responsibility, it's an obligation on my part to try to build that spirit. That spirit, you know, whether it's zo Udonis, Bob McAdoo, Keith Askins, Glen Rice, you know, you know, all of the players that we have kept on.
- [63:11]
Unknown Host
It's a lot bigger than 20 now.
- [63:12]
Pat Riley
Yeah. You know, and they're all part of the family. They're an extended family. And I think it's not always the best, because even in real families versus team families, there's always going to be those moments where when people get sideways, but 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 more than ever, if, in fact, there's any kind of a break in a relationship with a parent or there wasn't with my mother, to reconcile out. 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. They're too proud, probably, you know, and so I never had a chance to reconcile, but I have. I have reconciled, you know, with him and all of that stuff. And so, 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. 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, you know, just hang in there. I'll be back, Mom. I'll be back. 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. 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. 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, 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 if 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, you know, and so she was there along with my father, you know, that day, and I felt great about it.
- [66:47]
Unknown Host
And when Shaq and Wade put their hands on your shoulder and you're transported back to that moment, what's happening there? You're feeling the bonds that get made in basketball around life and death stuff.
- [67:00]
Pat Riley
Yeah, they cared. Yeah, you know, they just. They just. They cared. They. They understood what was going on at the time. And. But we had, you know, we had something planned here to win a championship. And, you know, 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. You know, I mean. I mean, they liked me, but they didn't like how I was, you know, because I was pretty honest. You know, my truth in 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.
- [67:53]
Unknown Host
Oh, but, Pat, you're pushing the greatest of the. You're Seeing, look, this is a fine line that an aggressive pushing coach is walking here. These are two championship worthy strengths, Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade. And you are pushing them at all turns to be better. You're challenging the best to be better by pushing them. Both of them you had clashes with over just weight. I don't even know what else you were clashing over, but you wanted both of them to be fitter at various times. I don't know what kind of insult they took that to be.
- [68:24]
Pat Riley
Well, you know, when Shaq came, he wanted to come here. And, and I'll never forget when. When he came here, the first thing I did was weigh him. You know, he's. 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 and or more. And, you know, which was for. Shaq is a big man. I mean, he's a 300, you know, and so by the end of the year, he was 323 and 12%. That's, that's 60 pounds that he lost and a 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. 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. See, he had a tough road to hoe when Duane grew up, you know, and I, you know, he's told his story a lot, so I don't have to talk about it. So I had tremendous compassion and empathy, you know, for his story and how he got away from being sucked into that life.
- [70:04]
Unknown Host
He didn't have by the time he arrived in Miami to be the face of your franchise. He didn't have like life tools that would be brought by having a stable upbringing of any kind. He was arriving very raw to Miami, and you guys helped make him, shape him into the face of a franchise.
- [70:23]
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. Honest to the public about their lives.
- [70:43]
Unknown Host
They're better at broadcasting than you ever were, the two of them. They broadcast well and they reveal more about themselves than you do.
- [70:51]
Pat Riley
They do. And that's what happens to us when we leave the game. And they'll find out there'll 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. And so. So as we go back to what I was when I got here, 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 didn't want to find people, but I took a lot of possibly sometimes their pride in their ego. 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 to have that kind of ego. I always use the acronyms also of all of the time, you're either an at a SAT or a no, not an all of the time great player or some of the time great player or a none of the time great player. And so I'd walk in and you know, oh, you're going to sod it today, right? Is that what it's about? And then they say, no, I'm a knot 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 yes, they're. They're much better at broadcasting. But I think all of us get a little bit truthful. 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 prove 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 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.
- [73:17]
Unknown Host
Well, it's been pretty marvelous to see what it is that you've built over there because you've handed it over to Spoelstra and Andy Ellisberg and Nick and Mickey Arison. They all run the organization with you and around you. You've got a trust of five people. You're a lifer and a loyalist guy like, these are people who are your family forever. But I've always been fascinated by the relationship between you and SPO because I assume since he's been there as a video coordinator from the beginning, that you guys probably have some dad son stuff, like some of the tension that I have with my dad. He's seen you from the inside. You've seen him from the inside, and he's probably now got his own ideas about how to coach a team that might not be necessarily how you want to coach a team.
- [74:00]
Pat Riley
He had them right from the beginning, you know, and every now and then, you know, I mean, 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, 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 now 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. 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. And. 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 are going. It's going to benefit me. 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 comes with experience. You can Be competent because you're in the video room, or you worked with me for three or four years, but now you're out there in front of everybody. And so I tried 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. 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. 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 have trust and sincerity and competency and all that stuff.
- [76:51]
Unknown Host
Business. And at some point, I might have to trade you.
- [76:53]
Pat Riley
I might have to trade you, you know.
- [76:54]
Unknown Host
But what do the fights look like with Eric over the years? The arguments, the disagreements, agreement?
- [77:00]
Pat Riley
No, I think. I think distance, you know, in silence is okay. It's okay for a while. Just let it. Let it simmer.
- [77:10]
Unknown Host
Just angry, repressed men on it with their backs to each other. The. The organization can function without us talking for 10 minutes.
- [77:17]
Pat Riley
Yeah. And that's okay. And that's not.
- [77:19]
Unknown Host
What do you mean? Yeah, it's okay, but it's not the most mature way to communicate.
- [77:22]
Pat Riley
No, but. No, it's not. But in the beginning, it was, you know, to communicate with. By having a no talk, you know, and so. Okay. It was succession.
- [77:32]
Unknown Host
Succession's a tricky thing, though.
- [77:33]
Pat Riley
Very, very tricky. Yeah.
- [77:35]
Unknown Host
I mean, Eric Spoelster is good enough to do the job that you've always been the best at. He might not ever feel like he's good enough to meet the standards of the best, because I would imagine that living in your shadow would be quite the burden.
- [77:51]
Pat Riley
Well, maybe somebody may have told him that one time. Maybe his father might have told him that. But 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. 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, 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.
- [79:11]
Unknown Host
It's a manifestation of all of the things you guys have built together as a great team for a long time, which is unusual. Why are you a control freak?
- [79:21]
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 with how that feels. 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. So I had this image and I had to relay that image every day to the players and to the staff about what it was going to look like when we got there. But they had to believe in it themselves because if they don't believe in it, then it determines your behavior 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 fuels their motivation to try to get that. 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. Spo does a hell of a job with that. 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.
- [81:30]
Unknown Host
I was gonna go deeper than that. The reason I was, I was pop psychology over here. Okay, I'm assuming that you're a control freak because you leave your house like a bat out of hell at 18 years old. You're hell bent on athletic success. You're your own man, you're free in the world and you're gonna show your dad or your family that you're going to be a success in the world. You don't control much of anything other than your own self sufficiency. You can take care of yourself. Pat Riley knows how to take care of himself. What can Pat Riley control in a turbulent environment? Whatever's happening at home, he can control himself, his own pain threshold, everything else. So I assume that the coach that was made in front of me was sharpened by the 25 years before he even got or the 20 years before he got into the professional sports pipeline. I'm assuming that you are a control freak at about 20.
- [82:24]
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 workforce. Whatever we didn't become, we just went.
- [82:45]
Unknown Host
You outgrew what could have been a very small life.
- [82:48]
Pat Riley
Yes, and we were fortunate. 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 formative 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. And it was all about, you know, the war and the hatred for the war back in the 60s and so. So. But I was climbing, I was surviving. I mean, while all that was going on, I was 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 all of that was going on. I was very conscious of it. But when you're in that survival mode of trying to make it to be recognized for something, I wasn't paying much attention to it, even though I. I was probably being formed by all those things that were happening in our world at that time. And it seems like it is damn the same way.
- [83:59]
Unknown Host
And race relations. You didn't even mention Race, civil rights. Yeah, you're coming through basketball playing for a Kentucky team that is at the center of racial strife like you are. Yeah, you're coming. Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a civil rights icon during that time, fighting with Bill Russell and everybody else. You're learning about race relations through basketball.
- [84:19]
Pat Riley
Well, I found out a lot, you know, about those relations. Two of my heroes in high school were Jackie Washington and Ray Young. Both, you know, black players that played. They were seniors when I was a sophomore, and I love both those guys. Winnie Winfield was on the team at the time. And so I was used to having friendships with. With black players, African American people in Schenectady in New York. When I got to Kentucky, there were no black players around anywhere. And we used to play against teams up north that had a lot of African American players. 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 I never forgot how it felt, you know, when we walked out onto the court for the center jump. You know, they had David Latin, Bobby Joe Hill, Austin artist Harry Flournoy and Neville Shedd. Neville, the Shadowshed. That was their starting lineup.
- [85:32]
Unknown Host
I can't believe you remember all those starters.
- [85:35]
Pat Riley
I just remember walking out on the court and. And, you know, we nodded at one another. There wasn't a lot of, you know, there was. We just lined up. But I felt that just by looking into their eyes, that they were playing for a hell of a lot more than in the NCAA championship. I just. I just felt that. And they. They dominated us. The very first play was a lob to David Latin, who dunked it over the top of me. And. 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. You know, 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, too, and 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, hey, Pat, it'd be Willie Cager, it'd be Neville. The shadowshad Harry Flournoy, who actually was their starting power for. It 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, 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. 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. And he said, I just wish we as men 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 premier. And then I got invitations on a regular basis. 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, so you want me to come down and be your foil again, right? And, you know, and 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 integrated 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, 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. 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, okay? I actually feel. I feel good about losing.
- [89:12]
Unknown Host
That's about the only time that's ever going to happen.
- [89:15]
Pat Riley
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.
- [89:35]
Unknown Host
Have you met your standard? Have you, at 79 years old, do you look back at your life and say that you have had the success.
- [89:43]
Pat Riley
Yes, I met my standard in 1968. Her name is Christine Carolyn Rodstrom.
- [89:53]
Unknown Host
People don't know the romantic side of you.
- [89:55]
Pat Riley
Married 50 years, married 57, whatever it is, you know, But I remember I was selling season tickets for the San Diego Rockets, and I had this nice bright blue suit on, white shirt with a nice tie. 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 Race. It was summertime. They were playing basketball games on the floor at a league. And 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 that. And she actually walked towards me and came over to the kiosk with a friend who was with her, played for the San Diego Chargers. And he introduced me to her. And then I took a look into those hazel eyes and that warm smile, and I said, you know, and this was. That was it. Because I'd never been in love, ever. And I was awestruck. On site, I was determined. I was determined to find this beautiful person. And I did. And it started with a walk on the beach, you know, and it started with an ice cream cone that we shared. Neapolitan ice cream cone.
- [91:41]
Unknown Host
You're such a sucker for long drives.
- [91:43]
Pat Riley
Yeah. It started also with long drives in my Corvette.
- [91:46]
Unknown Host
Here we go.
- [91:46]
Pat Riley
But no long drives in the. That Corvette during the sun and underneath the stars and listening to Motown, because that was our music, and it's still our music today. And with the exception of the boss, who I let in every now and then. But she has been the rock. We all. You know, a lot of husbands will say this, you know, but she has been the rock. She gave up a career to become Mrs. Coach, and. 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 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. And I know there's no such thing as perfection.
- [92:47]
Unknown Host
The reason I ask the question is because I imagine you're very hard on yourself. I don't know how forgiving you are.
- [92:51]
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 Riley, and now Olivia James Riley and Paul, her husband. It changes.
- [93:26]
Unknown Host
You're a grandpa. You're allowed to be a grandpa. I didn't mean to interrupt you though, on throwing flowers toward Chris, because I don't think people understand just how hard it is is to be Mrs. Coach and how it is that in order for you to have the strength to be the best you, it requires an obsessive compulsiveness that doesn't make one present in the marriage or in family, as maybe they're present when they're home. But what they're doing to pursue excellence is consuming.
- [93:54]
Pat Riley
Yes. And she's just as OCD as I am. So, so that's a, that's a good match right there. Because she, she's 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 out and I would go down and clean out the grass. You know, 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, you know, 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. You know, throw it away, whatever. You know, we all have these little quirks that we do that we know it's time, whatever it is, it's now taking a 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.
- [95:08]
Unknown Host
Oh, you find great inspiration music. You've sent me so much good music over the years because it moves you in a soulful, in a soulful place.
- [95:15]
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, do I relate to that song and the music? And so, yeah, I'm a music buff. I'm not everything Kareem used to be. An aficionado when it came to jazz. His dad, I think, played an instrument and turned Kareem onto jazz at a very young age. 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 youe in 1955 and is when I had a crush on this girl in seventh grade. And so. But when Motown hit my life in the 60s with the four tops, miracles and Temptations For. 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. Wilt Chamberlain, happy Harrison and myself, we were walking out of a hotel in San Francisco and. And 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, what do you. Who are you? You like this kind of music, Riley? 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, so, yeah, music has played a big part. Part. More so than even reading Forgive Me.
- [97:09]
Unknown Host
I led you astray, though you were talking about. You're no longer as unforgiving on yourself. You're no longer as hard on yourself as you used to be.
- [97:17]
Pat Riley
It's unhealthy now. God.
- [97:19]
Unknown Host
Well, I want to talk to you.
- [97:20]
Pat Riley
I want to live a little longer.
- [97:21]
Unknown Host
I want to talk to you about mortality and immortality. I want to talk to you about both these things because I don't know how you regard your legend. They're going to put. They're putting. Your name is on the court. It is something that I don't associate with the living. You are somebody whose legacy is secure in basketball. And you and I have had experiences recently burying people we care about. So you're thinking, how about mortality these days as you find your daily inspirations in the work?
- [97:55]
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, you know, 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. And you begin to think about it, and I think about those moments 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 the first thing we would do is we would bring our little boom box, our WiFi, Bluetooth box with a playlist. And every time we went on a trip, he would make a new playlist and I would make a new playlist. And so before dinner every night, he and I got up there 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 so, you know, he's gone, and I really miss him. And it was a long distance relationship, but it was always a relationship. And so when Jerry west passed, it was very difficult for me. And one of the reasons why I kidded Mickey about a little bit about what he's doing, he and Nick and the Arison family, Mickey and Madeline, Nick and Kelly, Jenna and Ronnie. For Mickey to do this and to bestow this, this incredible honor on me, it's very uncomfortable for me. That's not something that I like. When Tim Donovan 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, this dude in the back room somewhere away from everybody, and we can get it on video. And finally, David called me on the phone. He said, no, we are doing it at half court at halftime. Do you understand, Riley? That's the relationship he and I had.
- [100:26]
Unknown Host
That's the relationship he had with everybody.
- [100:28]
Pat Riley
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, and I want to do it now. And Nick and I have talked about it. Madeline, we want to do this for you. And, you know, 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 and to have that. But I still got a lot of life left in me, and I'm kicking.
- [101:04]
Unknown Host
So I'm not killing you yet. I'm not killing you yet.
- [101:07]
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.
- [101:28]
Unknown Host
Together, you said broke out though. Broke out. How emotional. Because as a family, they're insisting on honoring you. Pat, you built something. You built something down here that is eternal. Like you made South Florida this century. The sports successes that this town has had, has had them because of what you and Dwyane Wade did since 2003. The Panthers won recently, but for a 20 year run, you built something here that you. In 2006, you stopped feeling like a failure and now they honor you and you broke out. How?
- [102:06]
Pat Riley
Well, we. It's not me. 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 is the new scoreboard and you showed me that and some new partners we have. You know, Robin Hood now is our patch and Kaseya is obviously the name that we put on the building. And then he got, 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. And. And then he pushed it to me again. He said, no, look, look right in front of the scores table. And then I saw it and then as soon as I saw it, boom. They came and they come in a flood. They just flood. They just flood out. Even now in front of Nick, 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. Listen, listening to me, cursing all the time.
- [103:26]
Unknown Host
Now he's the boss.
- [103:27]
Pat Riley
Yes. And. And I couldn't help myself. It just, I, I just, the. It's too big for Pat. You know, 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. And, but I'm going to take it. And, and I love the fact that Mickey and Matt, Evelyn, Nick, Jenna Kelly, Ronnie, the Arison clan, the family, especially Mickey would do this. So, I mean, I wish I could do something for him in return. And I actually said, Mickey, dammit. Mickey and Pat, let's put Mickey and Madeline, Pat and Chris, Court, whatever it is. I tried to get out of it any way I could, but he wouldn't have it. He's been a blessing for me, Dan. He's like a brother.
- [104:24]
Unknown Host
What a great owner to have.
- [104:26]
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.
- [104:43]
Unknown Host
If I may, though, and I don't want to interpret your tears, but if you're sobbing, it's at least in part because these people, this family with whom you have a genuine love, because you've lived life as you're inspecting mortality and burying some of your friends, you're like, wow, we did something really beautiful together. And here, this gift you're bestowing me to appreciate me for how I contributed to your families building this thing. You felt loved there.
- [105:14]
Pat Riley
Absolutely. You know, and. 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.
- [105:26]
Unknown Host
Very repressed, the both of you. Very repressed. Yes.
- [105:30]
Pat Riley
Okay.
- [105:30]
Unknown Host
Cavemen who bang into each other.
- [105:32]
Pat Riley
You get your psychology.
- [105:33]
Unknown Host
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.
- [105:42]
Pat Riley
I told him that.
- [105:43]
Unknown Host
Him putting your name on the court isn' act of love.
- [105:45]
Pat Riley
Yeah, no, it definitely was. I felt it and Chris felt it. So she's geeked about it because she always thinks that I turned down too many things and. But it's. It's going to be a great night for me.
- [105:58]
Unknown Host
Why does it embarrass you, though? What? Because a coach is supposed to be. I mean, you. Come on, Pat, you were the fashion model coach. You were a fashion icon on the sidelines. You bought all your bullshit back then. You in 30 when you were in your.
- [106:10]
Pat Riley
I tried to do that then, yeah. Oh, absolutely, 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, period.
- [106:21]
Unknown Host
And you did.
- [106:22]
Pat Riley
I did. And the fact that I became GQ or whatever it is, or Armani, this. I'm tremendous respect because I think all coaches should conduct themselves. If you're running the most important part of building a multi billion dollar organization, that that frontman, you know, has to not only present himself in a manner that people will Be respected. But he has to present himself, you know, in press conferences and everything in a way that they will have respect. So, well, you know, back in the 80s, it was, you know, yeah, I would agree to go on a GQ magazine or I would agree to do commercials. I would agree to do those things. But no, write books.
- [107:04]
Unknown Host
You were writing books?
- [107:05]
Pat Riley
I wrote some books. And it was. 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. 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 stop 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 of that circle with them in the center, where, yes, you come in and join and you teach and you coach, but it's theirs.
- [107:52]
Unknown Host
You were still this in New York, though. In New York, in Los Angeles and New York, you were buying all the stock in Pat Riley ego. You believe that you're the greatest coach because your results are getting the greatest results. And you were. You felt you were the reason for the success. The players, too, but they wouldn't have been as good if not for being pushed by you. When did you put down the idea of, I've got to have less ego about this?
- [108:21]
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 it really was, you know, the players and I had enough. I was a little bit embarrassed by, you know, 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 Spo's voice who's in front of the media three, four times a day. I don't want to get in in the middle of my opinion. It could be different than his. And you know how that takes off virally in a negative manner. And so And I'm sure they'll pick something out of this interview to. To do that.
- [109:17]
Unknown Host
But I'm waiting. I'm waiting. I'm not going to end it until I get it. I'm not. I'm gonna sit. No, I'm gonna sit here until I get it. I'm trust I'm interviewing interview you for hours until I get that one moment that I could just clip and throw and throw to the aggregates and then just feed off it.
- [109:31]
Pat Riley
You will edit this in the in the proper manner of due respect and 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.
- [109:46]
Unknown Host
Yeah, sure thing.
- [109:48]
Pat Riley
Hey, you saw that car? Yeah. Sold it to Carvana.
- [109:52]
Dan LeBatard
Oh, I thought you were selling to that guy.
- [109:54]
Pat Riley
The guy who wanted to pay me.
- [109:56]
Dan LeBatard
In foreign currency, no interest over 36 months.
- [109:59]
Unknown Host
Yeah, no.
- [110:01]
Dan LeBatard
Carvana gave me an offer in minutes.
- [110:03]
Pat Riley
Picked it up and paid me on the spot. It was so convenient. Just like that.
- [110:07]
Dan LeBatard
Yeah. No hassle.
- [110:09]
Pat Riley
None. That is super convenient.
- [110:11]
Dan LeBatard
Sell your car to Carvana and swap. Hassle for convenience. Pick up the May apply Playoffs. We're talking about the playoffs. You bet. We are. Get in on the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NFL. Scoring touchdowns is key to winning in the playoffs. And you can score big by betting on them at DraftKings, the number one place to bet touchdowns. Go to the DraftKings sportsbook app and make your pick new DraftKings customers can bet $5 to get $200 in bonus bets instantly. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use code BEACH. That's code BEACH for new customers to get $200 in bonus bets Instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings sportsbook, the crown is yours.
- [110:53]
Pat Riley
Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER in New York. Call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas 21 and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio.
- [111:22]
Unknown Host
I have. I never understood why it is that you trust me because I find your organization to be distrustful and I don't even mean that. Private, I should say. And I don't think you trust many, I think. I'm not sure how Your. Your circle, as I've been observing you for 30 years, tends to be pretty small. It's either the people who are working on this thing with you, and you don't have a whole lot of use for anybody else.
- [111:48]
Pat Riley
Well, not really that. It's just that I think it's important to keep the family tight knit, you know, and so the family's expanded, you know, from 20 people in 1995 to over 150 people, you know, and so the family gets bigger and bigger and. 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, you know, from that standpoint. 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. I don't know what it is.
- [112:29]
Unknown Host
I haven't gotten it yet.
- [112:30]
Pat Riley
So what? Ask me that specific question.
- [112:32]
Unknown Host
Maybe I'm going to surprise you with it. You can't know it's coming. It's got. I've got to surprise you at the end, and then I'll yell a ha. In your face, and then I'll betray every trust you've ever had. But when it is that you look at the things that you have been in your life, the chasing, there's winning, and there's misery. What has been the cost of a lifetime dedicated to sports excellence?
- [112:57]
Pat Riley
The cost has been, obviously, probably some of my health, mental health, physical health, to estrangement, probably with friends over the years, the cost has been not to say yes to a lot of things that normally 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 extremely well by the media, even the media today, who continue to cover the ones that have been here 30 years with me, you know, too, they've criticized me, they've. They've been fair with me, they've been objective. And 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 I get criticized 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 can at times, 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 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 this social media stuff, but it does become a major distraction.
- [114:46]
Unknown Host
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 how you observe sitting out back to backs or showing up at media day in a wig or just missing games.
- [115:06]
Pat Riley
I would have handled it differently, There is no doubt. But I can. I can. The players who want to express themselves in a way that. That is absolutely anti what my beliefs are in representing an organization, whether it's to grow a bigger brand, to make more money, to go out there, that separates themself a little bit from the pack. 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. You know, when I grew up. 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 finger. It was hard, but it was different. There was. Even if it was a stone cold house, there was love there. 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, you know, 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 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 might be a little bit more flamboyant than what I want, but that's who they are, and I respect that. But there's a difference. Be who you want to be. But in one of the great biblical terms, render unto seed Caesar, you know, what is his, you know. And when the, you know, 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. You can't shortcut it with us. And so 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, yes, I feel like I owe and I have to render unto to Mickey. He's my boss, you know, I don't do it in any other way other than with respect. And I feel the same way about the players.
- [118:11]
Unknown Host
When I ask you about the cost of excellence, where do you have regret on what the cost was?
- [118:21]
Pat Riley
I'm never going to apologize to my players for being tough, ever. 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. I know it sounds like an excuse, but even, you know, 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, you know, with Elizabeth, you know, talk to Chris, put Elizabeth on for a minute, put James on for a minute. You know, we're chasing our dream dreams 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. And that's why I don't travel now that much, because I don't want to be. I don't want to be away from her, you know, at this age, you know, so. And he's got the trips. He's got the road trips, and he. He mixes up the road trips now by going, seeing, you know, the Eagles or Springsteen or something. So he.
- [119:46]
Unknown Host
Oh, but, Pat, it's not just the schedule, though. It was the schedule combined with the obsession. You were. You were. And you are a maniac.
- [119:52]
Pat Riley
Yeah, well, I'm not a maniac, but I was definitely preoccupied. You can call it, you know, whatever you want, describe it, but you just.
- [120:01]
Unknown Host
Told me I couldn't call it craniac. It's obsessed. You were obsessed with work, with excellence, with not getting Caught from behind. No, correct. But it pulls me away from. From some of the things that I love that you're now talking about when you're saying, I wish I could have been there, especially when you're saying, I want to be there every minute now with Chris, because you have a better appreciation for the stuff that actually that matters the most.
- [120:23]
Pat Riley
The most. Right? Yeah. So, you know, when you come to, you know, that thought process, I'll steal another quote. Don't know who the author was, was a man or woman's greatest fear is their fear of extinction. But what they should fear even more than that is to become extinct one day with insignificance. And what that always meant to me is that all I ever wanted to do in my life is something that matters and counted. And I did that in sports. I didn't do that as a husband or a father as much as I wish I could have. So that's something that we all talk about. When you talk to longtime life coaches, they would, at my age, all of them say the same thing. I wish I could, could have. You know, I'm, you know, Nick Saban, you know, Dick Bennett, you know, I mean, these coaches that are getting out of college basketball, that are great coaches, 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. 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, you know, from what their passion was and what they thought they were doing out.
- [122:17]
Unknown Host
But what you're talking about, Pat, correct me if I'm wrong, you're not just talking about the schedule when you say, I wish I could. What you're saying is the demands of the job are such that if you're going to be obsessed enough to be excellent, that combined with the schedule, makes it almost fundamentally impossible for someone to be a present father and husband. Maybe. Maybe some figure it out because they've got some magical stardust. But you thought you had to be working 20 hours a week, correct? Or 20 hours a day?
- [122:46]
Pat Riley
We did, 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. May, April, May, June. You're in this life, and it could be a wonderful Orient Express ride or 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.
- [123:35]
Unknown Host
Because you're winning late into the season.
- [123:37]
Pat Riley
But every season and it's like, it's like one big run on.
- [123:40]
Unknown Host
No, but there's also. No, but there's also, it's not just on a treadmill. It's also, there's winning and there's misery. So you're, you're, you're joyless, you're, you're. Well, when you're winning, you're joyful, but then when you're not, you're miserable. Is that not what you're bringing home?
- [123:56]
Pat Riley
Sometimes, you know, sometimes. You know, the whole winning in misery thing I think is just a saying about trying to accentuate, you know, to your players. Look it, 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, you know, and this is winning. It's not even joyful. It's. You win to get to the next game, you know, 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, have sort of created that, that message today and. Because it's not that way and. But I can tell you once the season was over with and you go down the rabbit hole for, you know, 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. 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.
- [125:07]
Unknown Host
You're not as obsessed as you used to be.
- [125:08]
Pat Riley
No, no, I'm not. You know, but I'm not. And I'm glad I'm not. I can't be. But I'm still totally engaged, but I'm not obsessed.
- [125:19]
Unknown Host
How do you measure success though, at this point? What does success?
- [125:24]
Pat Riley
Well, success to me now is health, happiness, hunger and humility. The four Hs to me, that's What I would call it, I mean, that if I can be successful that way right now at this 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. 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 dislike them, is that I'm walking to my office and there was tunnel vision. And I'd always say, good morning to Karen, you know, my longtime executive assistant, Pat.
- [126:26]
Unknown Host
When I say, you're a maniac, I just don't know. I don't know if the people know what that laser focus has been for a long time, that what the job required for you to beat everyone else that was trying to win meant that you had to be totally lopsided as a human being on where your compulsive obsession, like you couldn't be thinking about much of anything else. The job required too much of you.
- [126:48]
Pat Riley
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 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. Yeah, could you just say hello to somebody? And I'm saying, 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.
- [127:47]
Unknown Host
Do you know where that comes from? Do you know where your obsessive work ethic that made you great comes from? Blank.
- [127:55]
Pat Riley
Failure. The fear. We all have a fear of not making it, you know. And so when my career was over as a player. Player, it was over. And my best friend at the time, 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. He had just lived in my house while I was at Phoenix, and he had gotten 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 thing about Jerry that I love, he was honest as hell, man. He was honest and truthful, and he said, no. And I was taken back a little bit by that. And I said, you know, I can help. Training camp. He said, no, 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 get it for three years. 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 were done. 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.
- [129:58]
Unknown Host
This is when you were starving, right? You're not even saying that.
- [130:01]
Pat Riley
Out of the game. Out of the game.
- [130:02]
Unknown Host
But when you say starving, you're saying emotionally there. You're not saying, like, you're out of money. You're saying that you're lost because you've lost your identity. The thing you thought you were going to be is gone.
- [130:12]
Pat Riley
Nine years was over with. Now what am I going to do next?
- [130:14]
Unknown Host
You bury him, and now you're scared. And. And this woman, this love of your life, helps save you, rescue you, support you through. Hold your hand through the darkness.
- [130:23]
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 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.
- [130:44]
Unknown Host
Doesn't sound like starving, Pat.
- [130:45]
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.
- [130:56]
Unknown Host
I want to thank you for all your time. I appreciate. Over 30 years. I cannot tell the audience enough about how supportive you've been at every time I've made a move in my life. Professional Pat Riley has been there to either help me or support me or offer something in the way of wisdom or guidance. And I've treasured your trust for many years, even though you don't give me any information because it's the most private, secretive organization anywhere in sports. But I do value that you would come over here and spend this time with us. And if you want. If you want to get me my clip that goes viral, they're calling you washed up old man. They're saying the game has passed him by. He had to watch the Celtics beat him last year. And I imagine him shaking a fist at the television. What do you have to say to the critic who's out there saying, whoever's saying that.
- [131:48]
Pat Riley
I haven't read it. I haven't read it because I'm not on any social media site. Not one. So. And I don't care because I've been. I've had my ass kicked by the Celtics and 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 better, 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, you know, critics say because, you know, maybe I am. Maybe I should, you know, 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.
- [132:44]
Unknown Host
You're not going to be sedentary, right? There's always. Pat Riley is going to be always driven, always looking for his inspirations. You write screenplays. You. You. You are looking for places to remain inspired.
- [132:55]
Pat Riley
You know, maybe I will take that 600 page, 11 by 17, written in pencil on legal yellow paper. I'll find that in storage and go back.
- [133:10]
Unknown Host
I got a media company. I got. I'm making movies now. I don't know. They're not 600 page scripts.
- [133:16]
Pat Riley
Verbal diarrhea. When I quit. Quit. When I retired, I spent a year and a half just writing. Just writing. And it, you know, when I read it, it Disgusts me about how I talked about. 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.
- [133:38]
Unknown Host
Were you wallowing or. I won't push too much on this.
- [133:41]
Pat Riley
I was wallowing.
- [133:41]
Unknown Host
You're disgusted by the man who was writing that. Who, who needed to get all his emotions out on paper.
- [133:46]
Pat Riley
Yeah, no, I just wrote. That's what I do all the time. You know, every single one of my practice plans, game plans on blue card stock is dated. You know, 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. 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. So if I were to go back and think about something that would be really consequential for me if I was to ever retire, I wouldn't worry about sedentaryism. Is there a word like that you.
- [134:56]
Unknown Host
Wouldn'T worry about being sedentary?
- [134:58]
Pat Riley
Sedentary in ism is the.
- [135:01]
Unknown Host
Okay, well, you just made it up. Yes, you made it up. You wouldn't worry about that because you're never going to be puttering.
- [135:07]
Pat Riley
But I'm gonna live life too. I'll put my feet up. I'll definitely put my feet up. And I'll have a Panneloni's. It's a tequila, you know.
- [135:17]
Unknown Host
Okay. I thought you were only red wine these days.
- [135:19]
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 a little. And I'll sit and I will listen to. Now I'm listening to Teddy Swims. Okay. Yeah, he wrote a great. A great. He's 31 years old, 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 he just wrote an album called I've Done Everything But Therapy. And you got to pick it up, you got to listen to it. 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's just a magical, wonderful night. And. And he came out on the stage and for two hours captivated me. So those are the things that I'm going to be doing if I ever retire. I'm going to be chasing.
- [136:35]
Unknown Host
You've done everything except therapy. You've done everything except therapy.
- [136:39]
Pat Riley
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 la. Because my wife was a marriage family counselor, so she used therapy. Maybe that's why we lasted 57 years. Years. But I walked into her office, I sat down and the first question she asked me, tell me about your father. And I got up and walked out.
- [137:05]
Unknown Host
Yeah, see, there you go. He's done everything but therapy and he didn't do it here. I've talked to you a lot about him over the years. I hope we get a chance to do it again, Pat, because I can't do it with you enough.
- [137:16]
Pat Riley
Appreciate it.
- [137:16]
Unknown Host
Thank you for giving us.
- [137:17]
Pat Riley
And congrats, my man, because you have gone through the stages of where you were and. And look at all this south beach sessions. I love it. Yes.
- [137:26]
Unknown Host
Right across the street from you. Thank you. Well, I know the Heat organization flatters me. When we were up in the televisions where people are working around there, because like I told you at the beginning of this, and it's sincere, you allowed me to build a little business next to your giant business at every. Pat, I don't know how many times.
- [137:44]
Pat Riley
You did it for me though, but I'm gonna give this to you. You got the gold pass. Okay? Okay. Ira has the gold pass. Anthony has the gold pass.
- [137:54]
Unknown Host
For being here a long time.
- [137:55]
Pat Riley
For being here since the beginnings has the gold pass. Thank you, guys that have been around forever. Joe Rose, I don't get to talk on morning radio anymore. The gold pass, the people who saw.
- [138:08]
Unknown Host
You since you were at that hospital, next to. At the gymnasium next to the hospital.
- [138:13]
Pat Riley
Yeah. I think most of those men now are long gone. But we're not there anymore. We're in this beautiful palace, this billion dollar piece of property called the Kaseia center, that somebody decided to put Pat Riley's court there. So I'm going to take it and have a good time.
- [138:29]
Unknown Host
I'm going to tell the audience, though, that at every turn, whenever I went to ESPN Radio, whenever I had a big magazine piece to do, whenever it is that I needed a cameo on highly questionable, where you could come through and do funny things behind my dad at every turn. I've never understood why it is you've helped me at every point in my career. But you've gone out of your way to do so, and I appreciate it. Because you didn't have to do that.
- [138:53]
Pat Riley
Because how you treated your dad. Puppy.
- [138:57]
Unknown Host
You always had a soft spot for that.
- [138:59]
Pat Riley
No, it's how you treated him. How you took care of your father. I love that.
- [139:05]
Unknown Host
Thank you, buddy. Thank you for everything, Sa.