Lakers and Heat legend Pat Riley names the greatest NBA player of all time

Few figures have left as deep an impact on the NBA as Pat Riley. He’s appeared in countless NBA Finals and, in various roles, has won multiple championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. Drawing from his decades of experience and deep basketball knowledge, he named his favorite player.

“I always said that Kareem was the greatest player of all time because of his longevity,” Riley said in an interview with ESPN in 2023, highlighting Abdul-Jabbar above all the other stars who have passed through the league. “I put Michael (Jordan) in there too. But Kareem was the greatest at that time because of his longevity and the fact that he continued to perform at a high level when he was in his late 30s and 40s.”

Pat went even further, insisting the Showtime Lakers wouldn’t have reached their level of success without their legendary center. “We don’t win championships without the greatest player in the history of the game, who had the greatest weapon in the history of the game. The skyhook was unstoppable,” the coach said. “Last minute of the game, it’s going to one guy… Kareem was the guy, and he’ll always be the guy.”

Riley also shared some of the habits that helped Abdul-Jabbar extend his career across two decades. “His longevity came out of something that most players weren’t aware of back then or didn’t take the time to learn about. Kareem was a practitioner of yoga… I mean, really deep in meditation and yoga,” Pat said. “He would end up in these pretzel-like positions, and our guys would laugh at him, and he would just say, ‘You’ll see one day. You’ll see one day.'”

Pat Riley, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Earvin “Magic” Johnson pictured during the unveiling ceremony of Abdul-Jabbar’s statue at Staples Center in 2012.

Pat Riley compares Kareem Abdul Jabbar to LeBron James

That praise for Kareem’s longevity came in 2023, right around the time LeBron James was on the verge of breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record and was also approaching his 20th season in the NBA. “For LeBron to be able to play during this era, from 2003 to now, during this period, it just shows just how great he is as a player,” said Pat.

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Around that same time, in a conversation shared on the NBA’s official website, Riley drew comparisons between James and Abdul-Jabbar. “It’s all about LeBron right now, and it should be, with his unique career,” Pat said. “Training, travel, personal chefs, personal trainers, all that stuff has come into play since Kareem. I hope people realize Kareem’s story as well and how different it was. He went to college for four years; LeBron came out of high school. But they both dominated from Day 1. They both turned potential into greatness from Day 1.”

Pat Riley on Michael Jordan

Alongside Kareem, Pat Riley places Michael Jordan at the pinnacle. Riley coached against MJ during the 1980s with the Lakers, and more intensely in the 1990s with the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. “I don’t think there’s ever a day that his image doesn’t flash in front of my mind,” Riley told the New York Times in 1997. “If you’re a basketball coach, whether you’re reading, watching, or talking, all of a sudden, you get an image of Michael Jordan.”

The Chicago Bulls star even referenced those battles against Riley’s teams during his Basketball Hall of Fame induction in 2009. “You challenged me every time I played the Knicks, the Heat,” Michael recalled. “Any time I played against you, you had Jordan-stoppers on the team.”

That Riley placed such emphasis on game-planning for MJ reveals the deep respect he had for the shooting guard’s ability. “Jordan will always to me be the best of the best of the best,” Pat said on ESPN in 2007. “I don’t think anybody is ever gonna be considered better than the guy that hung from the air. Never.”

Magic Johnson is also the GOAT, according to Riley

In addition to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan, there’s a third player Riley has at times named as the best. “He’s the greatest player of all time,” Pat said about Magic Johnson during a 2017 event in Los Angeles. “He was a winner.”

Reflecting on what Johnson meant to that Lakers team, Riley recalled: “He didn’t have to score because of Kareem and James (Worthy) and everyone else we had… He could’ve scored 30 points a game if he wanted to. And we could’ve won.”

Pat ultimately compared Magic to LeBron James. “LeBron is the closest thing to Earvin that we’ve ever seen because of his size, his speed, his acceleration, his vision – everything that he can do,” Riley said. “The way that LeBron plays the game now – coast to coast, handles the ball, runs the offense – it’s just like Earvin. I mean, same mold. Same DNA. They’re winners.”

Pat Riley’s career with the Lakers

Pat Riley’s first contact with the NBA came as a player. He played shooting guard for the San Diego Rockets from 1967 to 1970, when he joined the Lakers. In 1972, he won his only title as a player there, and a few seasons later ended his playing career with the Phoenix Suns at age 31.

After retiring, Pat briefly worked as a broadcaster until 1979, when the Lakers hired him as an assistant coach under Paul Westhead. In that role, he helped lead the team to a championship in 1980, and just a year later was promoted to head coach following Westhead’s dismissal. That marked the beginning of a golden era for the Los Angeles franchise—“Showtime”—with 7 Finals appearances and 4 titles in 9 years.

Riley in New York and Miami

After his time with the Lakers, Riley coached the New York Knicks from 1991 to 1995, where he was at the center of intense rivalries against Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and reached the NBA Finals in 1994 against the Houston Rockets. Immediately following that stint, Pat took over as head coach and president of the Miami Heat, eventually guiding the franchise to the top of the league.

With the Heat, Riley earned his final championship as a head coach during the 2005–06 season. Two years later, he stepped down from coaching but remained team president, designing the formation of the Miami “Big Three” with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh—a group that won titles in 2012 and 2013 and reached four straight Finals.

Now 80 years old, Pat Riley continues to serve as president of the Miami Heat and remains one of the most legendary figures in NBA history. Across his various roles, he’s won 9 championships and has participated in almost 25% of all NBA Finals. That remarkable legacy has earned him numerous accolades, including three NBA Coach of the Year awards and induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.