Pat Riley

Biography

Now President of The Miami HEAT, Pat Riley posted 50-plus winning seasons in 13 consecutive years, which is unprecedented in the NBA. Pat concluded the 1996 regular season with a 798-389-career record, a sizzling .702 mark. Riley's 137 playoff victories rank first in league post-season annuals as the only coach to secure 100 or more playoff victories. He surpassed the legendary Red Auerbach's 99-playoff wins in 1990. Pat has won six world championships as a player and coach.


Mr. Riley is not only one of pro basketball's winningest coaches, but his speeches before hundreds of corporations have earned him the title of "America's Greatest Motivational Speaker." He has been rated by Success magazine as "The best in his field." Pat is a consummate competitor who knows the exhilaration that comes with winning. His philosophy is based upon winning, leadership, mastery, change, and personal growth as well as understanding and controlling the shifting dynamics of a team—any team, whether it is a small company, a giant corporation, a city, or a group of athletes. Pat has also completed an award winning 30-minute Motivational video entitled "Teamwork" in which he applies his winning philosophies to business and life in general. His books Show Time and The Winner Within have appeared on the New York Times Best-Seller list.

Coach Riley brought the 1993-94 New York Knicks to the franchise’s first NBA Finals in more than two decades. During the 1994-95 regular season, Coach led New York to a 57-25 record and won their second Atlantic Division Crown. He was named NBA Coach of the Year under the Knicks during the 1992-93 season. Pat has coached in nine out of 14 All-Star Games, once as the East Coast coach with the Knicks, and eight times as the West Coast coach with the Lakers.

The 51 year-old legend was "Coach of the Eighties" when he led the Los Angeles Lakers to four World Championships. During nine seasons as head coach of the Laker dynasty from 1981-82 through 1989-90, Pat became the all-time winningest percentage head coach in NBA history with a remarkable 533-194 record for a .733 winning percentage. The Lakers finished atop the Pacific Division in each of those nine campaigns, never posting less than 50 victories, and five time reaching 60 or more wins. In fact, in 1987-88, the Lakers set an NBA record by becoming the first club in history to record a fourth straight 60-win season. Riley piloted the Lakers to NBA titles in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. These four championships as a head coach rank third in NBA annals to Red Auerbach's nine and John Kundla's five. He was named NBA Coach of the year under the Lakers during the 1989-90 season.

Pat was the San Diego Rockets’ first-round draft pick (seventh overall) in 1967, launching a nine-year NBA career. He played three seasons in San Diego before joining the Lakers in 1970. Pat spent five full seasons in a Laker uniform and averaged 6.7 ppg on Los Angeles' 1971-72 NBA championship team. He completed his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns in 1976.

Prior to his pro-career, Pat was a collegiate star at the University of Kentucky (1963-67). He was the Wildcats' MVP for three seasons, averaged 22 ppg in his junior year as Kentucky made the NCAA finals, and was team captain as a senior.

Pat and his wife, Chris, are involved with numerous charity and community service projects, which include D.A.R.E., Elizabeth Glaser's Pediatric A.I.D.S. Foundation, and The Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Publications

The Winner Within is Pat Riley’s formula for success. It is a book about winning, leadership, mastery, change, and personal growth, based on understanding and controlling the shifting dynamics of a team - any team, whether it is a small company or a giant corporation, a family, city, or a group of athletes.

Titles

The Winner Within
Pat Riley is one of the brightest figures to ever coach in the NBA. He understands the psychology of teamwork and personal excellence and is a master at creating organizations whose achievements are greater than the sum of their parts. His speech shows business people how to put those principles to use. He gives audiences a vision of how to go above and beyond. He shows how to ride with the cycles of team change and make the most of every opportunity. Riley also cites ways for them to draw out their natural leadership abilities and further shows how one person can make a difference for an entire team.