Pat Riley’s Birthday
On this day in 1945, Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley was born in Rome, New York. A five-time NBA champion and three-time Coach of the Year Award winner, Riley had career records of 1,210-694 (.636) in the regular season and 171-111 (.606) in the postseason.
Riley ranks fifth and second, respectively, on the NBA’s all-time lists for regular season and postseason wins. Only two coaches in NBA history have won more championships:
11 — Phil Jackson
9 — Red Auerbach
5 — Pat Riley
5 — Gregg Popovich
5 — John Kundla
Riley is one of only three coaches to win at least one NBA title with two different franchises:
Alex Hannum (St. Louis Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers)
Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat)
Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers)
Riley (New York Knicks) and Hannum (San Francisco Warriors) are the only coaches to lead three different franchises to an NBA Finals appearance.
Riley won 17 division titles, four more than any other coach in NBA history. Since the NBA began conference play in 1970-71, Riley’s nine conference titles rank second only to Phil Jackson (13).
Riley won at least 60 games seven times, tied with Phil Jackson for the most such seasons in NBA history. Riley and Jackson are also tied for the second-most 50-win seasons with 17 (Gregg Popovich is the leader with 19 such seasons).
Riley has had a successful career as an executive with the Heat since retiring as a coach, winning back-to-back NBA titles in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Riley was named Executive of the Year following the 2010-11 season, making him one of only four people to win both the Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year Awards (Red Auerbach, Frank Layden, and Larry Bird are the others).
The seventh overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft, Riley appeared in 528 games as a player, averaging 7.4 PPG. He won an NBA title playing for the Lakers in 1971-72.
Nine Straight Triple-Doubles
On this day in 1968, Wilt Chamberlain compiled 26 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers closed out their regular season with a 137-119 rout of the Baltimore Bullets. It was Chamberlain’s ninth straight triple-double, at the time the longest such streak in NBA history. His record has since been surpassed by Russell Westbrook (11, 2018-19).
Chamberlain recorded 11 triple-doubles in March 1968, the second-highest total in a calendar month in NBA history (Westbrook had 14 triple-doubles in April 2021). He recorded 31 triple-doubles for the season, the fifth-highest total in NBA history:
42 — Russell Westbrook (2016-17)
41 — Oscar Robertson (1961-62)
38 — Westbrook (2020-21)
34 — Westbrook (2018-19)
31 — Wilt Chamberlain (1967-68)
This was Chamberlain’s second straight season with at least 20 triple-doubles. The only other players in NBA history to reach that mark in consecutive seasons are Robertson (five in a row) and Westbrook (three).
Chamberlain finished the season with 702 assists, becoming the first (and still only) center in NBA history to lead the league in total assists. He also placed first in rebounds and third in points. Chamberlain is the only player to finish a season ranked in the top three in all three categories, a feat he also accomplished the previous season.
Shaq Reaches Milestone
On this day in 2003, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal recorded 28 points and 13 rebounds in a loss to the Sacramento Kings, becoming the 28th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points. O’Neal is now of one 50 players to reach that milestone, but only eight have done so in fewer games than O’Neal’s 727.
O’Neal averaged 27.5 PPG and 11.1 RPG for the season. It was the last of 10 straight seasons in which he averaged at least 25 PPG and 10 RPG, the longest such streak in NBA history. O’Neal also shot at least 55% from the field in each of those seasons. No other player in NBA history has averaged at least 25 PPG on 55% shooting from the field in more than four straight seasons.