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Miami Heat president and Basketball Hall of Famer Pat Riley has seen it all and won it all in the world of basketball.
Riley was a first-team All-American as a player at Kentucky. He then became an NBA champion as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He’d later go on to win five NBA championships as a coach with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat before winning two more an executive with Miami.
It’s safe to say Riley is an absolute giant in the game and when he speaks, everyone tends to listen. So when he gave his opinion on the greatest player of all-time recently, it turned some heads.
Pat Riley Says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Not Jordan Or LeBron, Is The Real GOAT
Riley coached at the height of Michael Jordan’s powers. He then served as the team president when the Heat landed LeBron James, who led the franchise to two Larry O’Brien trophies in 2012 and 2013. But neither one of those are the GOAT, according to Riley.
Instead, that honor belongs to Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
“I always said that Kareem was the greatest player of all time because of his longevity,” Riley recalled. “Kareem was unique from the standpoint that he could play at a high level, play 80 games a year … get beat up because of double- and triple-teams and guys just taking shots at him. He just developed this mental toughness along with a great physical body to really last forever.
“… We don’t win championships without the greatest player in the history of the game, who had the greatest weapon in the history of the game,” Riley added. “The skyhook was unstoppable. Last minute of the game, it’s going to one guy. Kareem was the guy, and he’ll always be the guy.” – via ESPN
Riley added that Jordan is in the conversation, but that Jabbar and LeBron get the nod over him due to their longevity. But it’s Jabbar, whose impact is still felt today, that Riley says is “the guy.”