Mychal Thompson was a key piece of the Los Angeles Lakers’ back-to-back championship teams in 1987 and 1988. Those teams, led by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were coached by Pat Riley who remains considered as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history and an important figure in Lakers’ franchise lore.
With the schedule for the 2025-26 NBA season being officially released, the Lakers announced that a statue for Riley will be unveiled in Star Plaza on Feb. 22 prior to their game against the rival Boston Celtics. Many are excited for the coach to be immortalized and Thompson is among them, though he also hopes the statue comes out right.
Thompson took to social media to express his excitement at the announcement of the statue unveiling, though he did throw out a joke about hoping the Lakers don’t hire the same person that did the infamous Dwyane Wade last year:
YAAAY Pat Riley’s FINALLY gonna get a statue in LA but they better NOT hire Wade’s statue sculptor or else Riley will end up lookin like Abe Lincoln…
— Mychal Thompson (@champagnennuts) August 15, 2025
That Wade statue hilariously came under a lot of criticism for not looking at all like the Miami Heat legend and NBA Hall of Famer. Thompson not wanting the same outcome for Riley is understandable, though the history of Lakers’ statues outside Crypto.com Arena suggests things should turn out perfectly fine.
As Thompson said, this statue for Riley is long overdue as he was instrumental to the ‘Showtime’ Lakers era of the 1980s. After winning a championship with the Lakers as a player in 1972, Riley joined as an assistant coach in 1979, being part of that title team before taking over as head coach in 1982 and winning four more rings.
Riley has the highest win percentage in Lakers’ franchise history and is second in regular season and playoff victories trailing only Phil Jackson. Feb. 22 will be a day of well deserved celebration for Riley and hopefully the team will cap the night off with a victory over the Celtics, a team he still despises to this day.
Lakers to face Clippers, Nuggets & Mavericks for NBA Rivalry Week
Normally, the Lakers would take on the hated Celtics during NBA Rivalry Week, but the league decided to go a different direction this season. The Lakers kick off a season-long eight game road trip during Rivalry Week, facing the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks during one of the league’s premier showcases.
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