Pat Riley says he expects to see Meyers Leonard back in an NBA jersey at some point ... telling TMZ Sports he believes the hooper's basketball career ain't over despite his previous use of an anti-Semitic slur.
The former Heat center has been out of the league since he was filmed on a live stream dropping the k-word ... but he's worked tirelessly to educate himself on the Jewish community since.
The 29-year-old famously met a bunch of kids at a synagogue in Boca Raton in June .