Pat Riley

Who is Pat Riley?

Patrick James "Pat" Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a former coach and player in the National Basketball Association. He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, a position that enabled him to serve as their de facto general manager and as their head coach in two separate tenures.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams and an assistant coach to another. He was named NBA Coach of the Year three times. He was head coach of an NBA All-Star Game team nine times: eight times with the Western Conference team and once with the Eastern team. In 1996 he was named one of the 10 Greatest Coaches in the NBA history. As a player, he played for the Los Angeles Lakers' championship team in 1972. Riley most recently won the 2012 and 2013 NBA championships with the Miami Heat as their team president. He is the first North American sports figure to win a championship as a player, coach, and executive. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA Coaches Association on June 20, 2012.

Famous Quotes:

• You have to defeat a great players aura more than his game.
• There's no such thing as coulda, shoulda, or woulda. If you shoulda and coulda, you woulda done it.
• If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.
• From nobody to upstart. From upstart to contender. From contender to winner. From winner to champion. From champion to Dynasty.
• To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way.
• Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss.
• Don't let other people tell you what you want.
• When a milestone is conquered, the subtle erosion called entitlement begins its consuming grind. The team regards its greatness as a trait and a right. Half hearted effort becomes habit and saps a champion.
• A particular shot or way of moving the ball can be a player's personal signature, but efficiency of performance is what wins the game for the team.
• Shouda, coulda, and woulda won't get it done.