The Miami Heat are honoring long-time executive Pat Riley by naming their homecourt after him soon as a gesture for everything he has contributed to the team since its inception in 1995.
Team owner Micky Arison told Pat Riley, who was pleasantly surprised, the news via the Miami Heat’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account.
“Pat, we’re entering our 30th season. Nick and I have been talking about what would be the best way to commemorate really the tremendous effect you’ve had on our organization, the Miami Heat, and the city of Miami,” Arison said. “We came up with the idea of naming the court after you. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Are you kidding me? Wow, that wasn’t the goal, but I appreciate it,” Riley replied.
After coaching the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks, Riley took his talents to South Beach to become the Miami Heat’s head coach from 1995 to 2003. He then stepped down to run the front office.
Pat Riley returned to the sidelines from 2005 to 2008, leading the Miami Heat to their first title in 2006. He also oversaw the “Big 3” era of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh from 2010 to 2014, where they won two more championships.
Miami Heat had a “productive” camp, per Erik Spoelstra
Miami just wrapped up their training camp in the Bahamas, and head coach Erik Spoelstra couldn’t help but joke about what happened the last time they did the same in the Caribbean country.
“We’ve had great experiences when we’ve come down here. I believe the last time we were down here, we went to the Finals. So if you can guarantee that and then get us to that next step, we’ll come down here every year,” Spoelstra said via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.
Miami will open their preseason campaign against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.
