Pat Riley is certainly the most influential figure in Miami Heat history, but there was a chance that he might have never ended up there. Riley became the head coach of the Heat in 1995, but only after owner Micky Arison agreed to his ridiculous list of demands, as revealed in Chris Herring’s book, Blood in the Garden.
Riley was head coach of the New York Knicks at the time and was the highest-paid head coach in the league, earning $1.5 million per year. He, however, wanted a five-year, $50 million contract from the Heat, which was an outrageous sum for a head coach at the time.
Arison could have decided against giving him that deal, but he agreed. Riley wasn’t done with just that, though. He wanted 10% ownership of the team and another 10% over the course of his contract. Riley also wanted Arison to loan him funds to pay the taxes on that initial 10% stake.
If you think that’s a bit much, there’s even more. Riley asked that Arison buy his houses near Los Angeles and New York City as well. He wanted a limo service to and from games, credit cards, and $300 per diem.
That was it when it came to the financials, but there was one other big demand. Riley wanted to be the president of the Heat with complete control over basketball operations. I think many owners might have just walked away considering all those demands, but Arison agreed to all of them.
It would have seemed ludicrous at the time to agree to all of that, but it proved to be the right decision. Riley transformed the Heat franchise and in just his second season at the helm, took them to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in team history.
While the team continued to have success, for the most part, a championship eluded Riley and he would step down from his role as head coach in 2003. Riley would assume that role again in 2005 and then in 2006, led the franchise to their first championship.
He stepped down again in 2008 and this time for good. Riley remained the president, however, and continues to hold that position to this day. He then oversaw the arrival of LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010 to form a Big Three with Dwyane Wade. The Heat would make the NBA Finals four straight years from 2011 to 2014 and won titles in 2012 and 2013.
Some rough years followed after the Big Three era, but the Heat then reached the Finals in 2020 and 2024. They have been one of the best teams in the NBA in recent years and Riley has played his part in that.
The 2023-24 campaign is his 29th with the Heat, and in the previous 28, they have made the playoffs 22 times. Miami made the NBA Finals seven times in those 22 appearances and won three championships.
In the six seasons before he arrived, the Heat hadn’t even won a playoff series, and he helped establish that winning culture. Had Arison decided against hiring Riley back then, who knows if Miami would have ended up achieving any of this. Despite having achieved all of this, the fire is burning as strong as ever, and he desperately wants to get his hands on another championship.
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