SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- One of basketball's most famous coaches recently paid homage to his Capital Region roots. Miami Heat president and former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley shouted out his hometown of Schenectady in a video on social media.
On Wednesday, the Lakers shared a post on their Facebook page of a video call featuring Riley, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, and several members of the 1979 to 1991 Showtime Lakers, including Earvin "Magic" Johnson. During the conference call, Johnson and the other basketball legends surprised Riley with the news that the team had commissioned a statue to be built in Riley's likeness outside of the Lakers' home stadium, Crypto.com Arena.
Appearing overwhelmed with gratitude, the video shows Riley thanking everyone involved in the development, going on to say "I'm just a kid from Schenectady, New York, you know? And here I am, going to have a statue with the Lakers, my god. God bless all of you, thank you."
Riley grew up in Schenectady, attending Linton High School and playing on their basketball team. In 1961, he and his team bested New York City's Power Memorial Academy 74 to 68 in a game that featured Power Memorial's Lew Alcindor, who eventually changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Riley would go on to coach the future Hall of Famer on the Lakers. The five-time NBA championship-winning coach led the Lakers from 1981 to 1990, earning four rings with the team during his run.
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