PHILADELPHIA -- Pat Riley has already earned enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame, but Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra believes his longtime boss belongs in even more exclusive company.
"Pat is on the Mount Rushmore of executives," Spoelstra said Thursday, in advance of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers. "He should always be in that consideration, every single year. Because he kind of sets the blueprint and he's been able to do it so many different times. And then do it when people think that you can't."
Spoelstra's comments come in the context of the NBA announcing that Memphis Grizzlies executive vice president Zach Kleiman was selected as the executive of the year for the 2021-22 season.