Pat Riley considered a return to the Lakers but "was never pursued": "I have thought only from a sentimental standpoint"

A major part of why Pat Riley is generally considered one of the greatest figures in NBA history is because of his glorious time with the Los Angeles Lakers .

As it is, Riley notably steered the Lakers' fortunes as the head coach of its ‘Showtime’ era. Sporting a classy formal wear paired with his iconic slicked-back hairstyle trademark, Pat roamed around L.A.’s sidelines and passionately called their shots, which led to four championships and distinction as one of the league's greatest dynasties.

He is a charismatic figure with bright ideas for the game, a true leader who rallied Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy to greatness. When discussing the franchise's history, it's difficult to disregard his name for being one of the main foundations of their storied success.

Even though he shockingly left the Lakers after nine glorious seasons at the helm, Riles still maintained that fondest regard with his beloved organization until now. And interestingly, there was a time when he seriously thought about returning to L.A. in some capacity after all the years had passed.

Pat considered returning, but the Lakers didn't make a move

Most fans today know Riles as the ‘Godfather' of the Miami Heat, commanding the franchise as its president and former coach since 1995 and guiding them to three NBA titles. Even though he established a home and a newfound success in the front office at the South Beach, Riley openly admitted that he contemplated making a comeback for the City of Angels purely for nostalgic reasons.

But unfortunately, his desires weren't even reciprocated by the Lakeshow. There were reports in 2019 that Lakers owner Jeanie Buss expressed interest in him to lead the franchise back to relevance, but Pat refuted the claims as these were far from what is beneath the truth.

"I have thought [about returning to the Lakers] only from a sentimental standpoint," he said . "But I was never pursued by them. Nobody officially contacted me. I have about 20 friends wishing I would come back, but nobody asked.

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Riles: A Laker icon

We can only imagine what it would be like if the Lakers made their move to convince Riley to hammer a reunion with them. It'll be intriguing to see how Pat's brilliance as an executive would influence the franchise's decision-making, approach to constructing a legitimate title-contending team, and building a reputable ‘Culture’ like what he promoted for Miami. Not to mention, Riley managing the L.A. franchise in the LeBron James era couldn't be more of a glorious event to witness.

Regardless of how things unfolded, Riley will always be a Laker icon whose contributions to the organization will remain undeniable.

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