Pat Riley is a basketball lifer who has succeeded at basically every level of the sport, from his playing career, to his time coaching the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat as well as the multiple championships he’s won as an executive.
On Jan. 24, 1990, Riley added another achievement to his nearly endless list when his Lakers team beat the Indiana Pacers 120-111 for his 500th career coaching victory. It made Riley the fastest coach to reach that win total in NBA history.
At the time, Riley also became the 13th head coach to get that many wins under his belt, and did so with a record of 500-184, blowing the prior record held by Don Nelson (500-317) out of the water.