Pat Riley Bio: Wife, Net Worth, Coach, NBA & Heats

Early Life, Family & Education

Patrick James Riley was born in Rome, New York, the United States. His parents are Leon Riley and Mary Riley. 

He comes from a very athletic family. His father was a professional baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Blue Jays. 

Even after playing with the Blue Jays, he served them as a manager. Hence, he always encouraged his children to participate in sports and physical activities. 

Besides that, Pat has five siblings: Leon Jr, Leonard, Dennis, Elizabeth, and Mary Riley. His older sister died as an infant after suffering from a rare skin disease. 

Most of the Riley kids have an athletic background. Moreover, Leon Jr played professional football in the NFL. 

The oldest Riley served as a defensive back to Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and New York Titans. However, he sadly passed away in 2011. 

Not to mention, Leonard played collegiate basketball before an injury ended his career. While Mary was an excellent bowler, Liz was an outstanding gymnast. 

Similar to his siblings, Pat played different sports. Likewise, he excelled at baseball and basketball as a high schooler. 

The former NBA coach attended Linton High School. Following his high school graduation, he attended the University of Kentucky. 

The Godfather played collegiate football and basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats. He was an exceptional player and won several awards and honors. 

Age, Height & Weight

The former basketballer is 80 years old. As a former athlete and coach, he takes great care of his health and diet. 

Hence, he is quite fit and active for a guy in his 70s. Furthermore, he is 1.93 m tall and weighs 205 lb.

Basketball Career

Playing Career

Pat played high school basketball for Linton High School. Moreover, he was widely known for his victory over New York City’s Power Memorial with future hall of fame Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

After high school, Pat attended the University of Kentucky and was an exceptional basketball player for the Kentucky Wildcats. 

As a junior, he was the First Team All-SEC, All-NCAA Tournament Team, and NCAA Regional Player of the Year. Furthermore, he was the SEC Player of the Year and AP Third Team All-American. 

He also led the Kentucky team to an NCAA title game in 1966. However, the Wildcats lost to Texas Western.

The former athlete entered the 1967 NBA and NFL Draft after college graduation. Riley was drafted by the San Diego Rockets in the first round as the seventh pick overall. 

On the other hand, the NFL team Dallas Cowboys selected him in the 11th round as their wide receiver. The player went on with the Rockets. 

After three years with the Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers picked him in the 1970 NBA expansion draft. Nevertheless, Blazers quickly traded him to the Lakers. 

As a Laker, the Godfather helped the team win the 1972 NBA championship. After that, he played a season for the Phoenix Suns before retiring in 1976. 

Coaching Career

Los Angeles Lakers

Initially, Patrick joined the Lakers in 1977 as a broadcaster. However, when the Lakers’ head coach was injured, he became the new head coach Paul Westhead’s assistant coach.

In 1980, Pat won his second NBA championship after the Lakers won against the Philadelphia 76ers. At the time, the team included rookie Magic Johnson and legendary player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

After Johnson expressed his dissatisfaction over Paul, Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss fired Westhead. Moreover, Buss replaced him with Riley in 1981.

The replacement was fruitful for the Lakers, who won the 1982 NBA finals. Besides that, Riley became a celebrity for his style, slicked-back hair, and Armani Suits. 

Furthermore, he made the Lakers quite strong defense-wise and led them to their next championship in 1985. After that, the Lakers won consecutively from 1987 to 1988. 

The former basketballer had promised Lakers fans a win in 1988 and delivered it on a silver platter. However, he couldn’t secure any more wins for the Lakers in the next season. 

Following the Lakers’ loss in the 1989-90 season, he quit as a head coach. Nevertheless, he received his first NBA Coach of the Year in the same season.

New York Knicks

After a year off coaching, the former shooting guard was back as Knicks’ head coach. He served as a Knicks head coach for five years.

Between 1991 to 1995, he built the team’s strong defense and took them to the NBA finals in 1994. However, Patrick was unable to get them an NBA championship title. 

Nevertheless, he won his second Coach of the Year with the New York team in 1993. After failing to reach the 1995 NBA finals, the Godfather resigned as the Knicks’ head coach. 

Miami Heat And Executive President

Shortly after resigning, Pat became the president and head coach of the Miami Heat in 1995. However, the Knicks accused Heats of pursuing Riley even when he had a year left on his contract. 

The matter was resolved after the Heats traded a first-round pick and sent $1 million cash to the Knicks. Nevertheless, it gave rise to the Heats Vs. Knicks Rivalry in 1997 lasted till 2000. 

Following several disappointing seasons, Patrick stepped down as the Miami head coach in 2003. Nonetheless, he resumed coaching in 2005 after drafting Dwayne Wade and trading in Shaquille O’Neal.

As a result, he won the 2006 NBA finals against the Dallas Mavericks. He also received his third Coach of the Year award. The former Shooting guard took a break from coaching due to hip and knee problems. 

In the following years, he gained LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Together with Dwayne Wade, they formed the Heats’ Big Three that led the team to the 2012 and 2013 NBA Championships.

In southern Florida, the Miami Heat finally got their act together after a rough start to the season in 2022.

Famous Quotes

From the Heats President’s life, we can all agree that he has had a very productive career. Riley was an exceptional player, an outstanding coach, and an amazing executive president. 

Moreover, he has achieved success in almost all roles in his career. Hence, here are some inspirational quotes that he has said and lives by: 

• Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better. 
• Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss.
• You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again.
• There’s always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, motivation above and beyond winning.
• When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for new and more intricate explanations to explain the defeat.

Marriage, Wife & Kids

Pat is married to Chris Rodstrom. The two met in college and have been inseparable ever since. 

When the couple met, Rodstrom majored in Psychology at the University of San Diego. However, she dropped out to be with the then-NBA player. 

Nevertheless, she went back to college and finished her education. On top of that, Chirs also got a master’s degree in Psychology. 

She practiced Psychology and served as a licensed family therapist until 1981. After that, the therapist became a personal assistant for her husband. 

The Heats President is grateful to his wife for supporting him. Moreover, he credits his wife for most of his success. 

The two married in 1970 and have been together for over 50 years. Nonetheless, their love and trust grow with every passing minute. 

The couple finds great comfort in each other’s company. Even after five decades of marriage, they still can’t get enough of each other. 

Besides that, the couple has two children. They have a daughter and a son, Elizabeth Riley and James Riley. 

Net Worth, Salary & Investments 

The NBA champion has an impressive wealth amount. He earned most of his wealth through the NBA. 

As a player, coach, and executive president, Riley has built a net worth of $80 million. The award-winning coach had coached two teams to five NBA titles.

Moreover, his demand as a coach on NBA teams was quite high. On top of that, he charges over $50,000 to make appearances in various events during the off-season. 

Besides that, he invests in properties and owns lavish homes. The former Lakers coach has a condominium in Apogee worth $11,750,000.

He also owns a Coral Gables estate worth $16,750,000. Not to mention, his books have also made him a fortune. 

The Popularity Graph

Riley is versatile, and people repeatedly search for him for inspiration.

The above graph shows Riley’s popularity over the past twelve months.

FAQs

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