LOS ANGELES — LeBron James sat alone on the Lakers’ bench during halftime, before the team’s meeting, as he listened to Magic Johnson’s soliloquies about Pat Riley. Earlier, the Lakers honored Riley with a statue on Star Plaza at Crypto.com Arena. Later, the Lakers fell to the Celtics on Sunday evening.
James wanted to pay respects for Riley, not just the man who assembled the Showtime Lakers, but also the mind behind the Big Three in Miami, turning James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh into a force of the NBA – fit with a pair of NBA championships. James is in his eighth season in Los Angeles – double the time the 41-year-old spent in Miami – but both Riley and the Lakers star reminisced over the pair of NBA championships secured between 2010-2014, fit with a pregame hug shared before James hit the hardwood floor.
“Listen, he’s one of the all-time greats to ever have been a part of this league,” James said Sunday. “Not only player, coach, executive, front office, everything. Obviously, what he did here for the Lakers organization in the ‘80s goes without saying and rightfully so, him having a statue outside this building. Obviously, I spent four years with him. I have the utmost respect for him, for his family and everything.”
But if you ask Riley, he said Sunday that he dreamt of the what could have been, the potential for a decade of the trio of 2003 NBA Draft class stars suiting up in Miami. Riley, more than most league executives, understood that when James took his talents back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, returning to where he began his NBA career, that it was just “the business in the NBA.”
Players have their opportunity to test the market and find their best fit. James, following the 2013-2014 season where the Heat fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, chose his new home. He moved to Los Angeles in 2018.
“I wish him nothing but the best,” Riley said, “But, oh, I’m going to be selfish here and say, I wish I had him for another six or eight years. Would’ve been great, but we’ll never know.”
James, when told about Riley’s comments about the early 2010s Miami Heat, said that it was human nature to think about the “what could have been.” The four-time MVP added that his four years in Miami alongside Wade – who took part in Riley’s statue unveiling, speaking for five minutes at the ceremony – and Bosh provided him with “great memories.” But James also turned to the reality of where he is in 2026, still playing – unlike his Big Three peers – and averaging 21.7 points per game for the Lakers (34-22).
“It would’ve been interesting to see what could have happened,” James said. “I also would’ve never gave myself another 12 years to be playing this game either. So that’s another story.”
When it comes to Riley, Miami’s team president, however, James credited the Heat organization with providing him with the tools to win a championship, something James added that he didn’t feel was possible early in his career with Cleveland.
“I felt like I knew how to play the game and I just felt like they could possibly put me in a position where the goals that I had [could be achieved] and I was able to accomplish that,” James said.
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