The Pat Riley Lakers were an iconic era of basketball. The legendary coach ushered in the “Showtime” era of the team and arguably made them the iconic franchise they are today.
Riley was one of the best coaches in NBA history. It also helps that his Lakers had some of the best players in the NBA at the time and in history.
His teams made the playoffs 21 of his 24 seasons of coaching. Without injuries to star players, he might have been in the postseason 24 of 24 seasons. Legendary comic Chris Rock once said of Riley:
“No man has led more [men] to the promised land than Coach Pat Riley. He may not get us to the mountaintop but he’ll get us to the playoffs. And that’s all we want.”
Chris Rock
Riley’s Lake Show was one of the most impressive dynasties in sports and it had a ton of iconic NBA players. Throughout his 10 years as head coach of the Lakers, Pat Riley coached a few of the best players in NBA history.
He also coached a few other Hall of Famers as well as a few stars from that era that weren’t quite worthy of eternal enshrinement. Here are a few of the best players from the Riley Lakers era.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Prior to a different Laker (LeBron James) breaking the record, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the leading scorer in NBA history. His presence on the Pat Riley Lakers began in 1982, but he predated Riley and was a member of the team in 1975. The future Hall of Famer was an All-Star in 19 out of 20 seasons. He is considered by some to be the best basketball player ever.
James may have broken his scoring title, but Abdul-Jabbar was about as unstoppable as any NBA player ever was. He’s probably the best player Riley ever coached.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson is widely considered the best point guard of all time. He was also a big part of Riley’s team. Johnson is a big reason Paul Westhead was fired and Pat Riley was promoted to head coach. He was an All-Star for all but two seasons of his incredible career and won the MVP award three times.
Magic revolutionized the game of basketball. He also very well could have been the most important player to the Riley Lakers. Given his role in getting Riley an opportunity as head coach, the entire trajectory of the NBA might be different if Johnson was never a part of the Riley Lakers era.
Bob McAdoo
Bob McAdoo, the North Carolina product, was a tremendous player during his NBA career. A Hall of Famer, McAdoo averaged 22.1 points and 9.4 rebounds over 17 seasons. From 1982-1985, McAdoo was a force to be reckoned with for the Pat Riley Lakers and helped turn them into the dynasty they were.
McAdoo doesn’t have the name recognition of Johnson or Kareem. He deserves to be considered alongside them, though. He was instrumental in the Lake Show dynasty.
Mitch Kupchak
While Mitch Kupchak may be better known today for being an NBA GM (formerly with the Lakers and now with the Charlotte Hornets), he was once a key member of the Showtime Lakers.
Kupchak averaged double digit scoring for his career and was a key role player off the bench. He didn’t impact the box score as much as some other players. Nevertheless, he was a consistent player for the Lakers from 1981 to 1986. Had he not been injured for the entire year in 1983, his numbers might even look a lot better.
James Worthy
Another Hall of Famer, James Worthy is considered one of the best college basketball players of all time. Fortunately for the Lakers, his game translated to the NBA pretty well. He turned into one of the best players during his era.
The forward spent his entire career with the Lakers, beginning in 1982. He was drafted in Pat Riley’s first full season as head coach and was an instant producer. The former UNC star averaged 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Worthy would go on to be a seven-time All-Star and win multiple championships with the Lakers. Without him, the dynasty might have never been.
Byron Scott
Byron Scott averaged a cool 14.1 points per game for his entire career. He joined Pat Riley’s Lakers in 1983 and stayed with the team past the head coach until 1993. Furthermore, during those seasons, he averaged over 16 points for the Lakers.
In 1984-1085, Scott led the entire league in three point percentage. He was a 37% shooter from deep for his entire career.
Vlade Divac
Vlade Divac is most known for being the trade piece sent to the Hornets in exchange for Kobe Bryant. That title is hard to shed, but Divac was a good player for the Lakers.
Divac only played one season under Riley, but he’s a Hall of Famer so he should be included in the best players to play for Pat Riley and the Lakers.
Divac was an incredible player, averaging 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He didn’t do as much during his rookie season with the Lakers. However, he did average 1.4 blocks per game that year.
The Pat Riley Lakers are one of the most iconic eras of basketball for a team and the entire sport. Thanks to Riley’s leadership, some of these players ended up better than they would likely have been.
Still, Riley had the benefit of coaching what turned out to be quite a few Hall of Famers. That can really only help a coach look better. He’s a Hall of Fame coach. He’s one of the best executives this league has seen, too. Pat Riley was an unbelievable basketball mind and it showed in his coaching.