It’s hard to overstate the importance of Pat Riley to the Miami Heat. He is the man who built the Heat into one of the NBA’s best-run and winningest franchises, the man whose fingerprints are all over the three championship trophies the team has hoisted over its heads.

For this reason, the team decided to name their court after him.

“Thirty years, three championships, countless moments – none of it would have been possible without Pat Riley at the helm of the ship,” Heat owner and managing partner Micky Arison said in a statement to the court. “Pat has accomplished so much for this franchise and this city that it is only fitting that his name is forever engraved on the hardwood where we are reminded every day of his impact on the game and the Heat.”

It’s a fitting tribute to Riley, who came to Miami to coach the team in 1995, was on the bench for the franchise’s first title in 2006, and then was in the front office when the Heat lured LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami. to play with them Dwyane Wade won two more rings. He helped engineer trades that brought Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Tim Hardaway, Goran Dragic, Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry to Miami. Beyond just executing trades, he was the man who built the Heat’s culture and turned it into something that would be emulated across the league.

“This has been an incredible journey that Mickey and I have taken together over the last 30 years,” Riley said in a statement. “The goal from day one was to win and we did that. We won championships, sprayed each other with champagne, had parades, celebrated on this floor, in this arena, in the streets with our great fans and hung the names of our greatest players from the rafters.

“Naming the dish after me would have made my parents very proud. It’s a great, great honor for me, Chris and my family. I can only thank Micky and the Arison family from the bottom of my heart for this honor. “To all the players, coaches, staff and super fans, I say thank you.”

Riley was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach – he won four titles as coach of the Showtime Lakers before heading to New York and leading the franchise to some of its best finishes ever – and likely will because of his front office -Doing work again in Miami.
And now, fittingly, he will be enshrined on the court where the Heat play.