July 13, 2016, Las Vegas, NV – Back in the 80s when the NBA was ruled by the Showtime Lakers, they were coached by Pat Riley. He had the cool-as-Southern California look: the slicked-back hair, the perfectly tailored suits framing custom dress shirts with distinctive cutaway collars and fastidiously knotted ties.
With a roster featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper, it was presumed by most fans that it simply fell to Riley to roll the ball out to his superstars and then get the hell out of the way and model his Armani on the sidelines.