Los Angeles Lakers to unveil statue honoring NBA Hall of Famer Pat Riley

Los Angeles Lakers will unveil Hall of Famer Pat Riley’s statue on Feb 22, 2026. This information was made public as part of a press release on August 14, 2025. The Lakers will fittingly honor the former coach of the team during their game against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics have been a longtime rival of the Lakers. Riley was the team's coach for 10 consecutive years. The initiative will place his statue alongside those of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Kobe Bryant. Each of these players has made an immense contribution towards the team’s growth and success.

Pat Riley’s unforgettable contribution earns a long-overdue honour

Pat Riley made a major contribution to the Los Angeles Lakers, both as a player and as a coach. Throughout his time with the team, he has been a part of six Lakers’ championships.

Riley coached the team for 10 consecutive years from 1981-1990. This era of the team was particularly tagged as the “Showtime” era. The Lakers won 4 NBA championships during this period - 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. Honoring the legacy of the Hall of Famer, the team announced the unveiling of Riley’s Statue on February 22.

On that day, the Lakers will also be facing their longtime rivals, the Boston Celtics.

The announcement came as part of the 2025-2026 schedule information press release of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Pat Riley will become the eighth Lakers star to be honored with a statue at the Star Plaza. Apart from the Lakers, Riley was also a coach for the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat. He was declared as the NBA Coach of the Year thrice in 1990, 1993 and 1997.

Los Angeles Lakers announces schedule for 2025-2026 season

Presented by Delta Air Lines, the Los Angeles Lakers announced the schedule for the 2025-2026 regular season on Thursday. The team will kick off its 78th season against the Golden State Warriors on October 21.

The Lakers will be showcased on National Television 34 times—10 games on Amazon Prime, 7 games on NBC/Peacock, 7 games on ESPN/ESPN App, 6 games on ABC/ESPN App and 4 games on Peacock.

The tickets for their preseason game against the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks will go live on August 26, 1 pm onwards. They will be facing the teams on October 3 and October 15, respectively. The tickets will be available on Ticketmaster.com and axs.com. Also read: NBA 2K26 unleashes fantasy basketball as WNBA icons play alongside NBA legends