Latest news with #PatRiley
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Knicks' dismissal of Thibodeau serves as another reminder of Spoelstra's Heat longevity
Whenever an NBA head coach is fired, the news serves as a reminder of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's unique longevity. Spoelstra doesn't take that title for granted, often crediting Heat president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison for keeping him around so long. Another reminder that Spoelstra is currently the NBA's longest active-tenured head coach with one team came when the New York Knicks announced the firing of head coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday. Thibodeau's dismissal comes after he helped lead the Knicks to their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000 before being eliminated by the Indiana Pacers one round short of the NBA Finals. 'You have to have great ownership and stability from the front office,' Spoelstra said in November when asked about his long tenure as the Heat's head coach. 'We certainly have that with Pat and the Arison family. It is unique. I'm truly grateful for that, because we've been able to work through some tough losses and tough seasons and I think we've gotten better from that. 'It's a tough reality of where the coaching profession is, how many changes there are every single year. Basically half the league, in just the last two years alone. It's just tough. It's tough to operate, build any kind of culture when there's that much turnover.' There hasn't been much head coaching turnover for the Heat, with just five different head coaches (Ron Rothstein, Kevin Loughery, Riley, Stan Van Gundy and Spoelstra) during the franchise's 37 seasons. Spoelstra, 54, just finished his 17th season as the Heat's head coach after initially being hired by the Heat as its video coordinator in 1995. With Gregg Popovich stepping down as the San Antonio Spurs' coach in May, Spoelstra became the NBA's longest active-tenured head coach with one team. The Heat has qualified for the playoffs 14 times in Spoelstra's 17 seasons at the helm, including in each of the last six seasons. The Heat has also won two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013 with Spoelstra as head coach. In addition, Spoelstra is already the winningest head coach in franchise history in both the regular season (787 wins) and playoffs (110 wins). Spoelstra also holds the third-most wins by a head coach with one team in NBA history behind only Jerry Sloan with the Utah Jazz and Popovich with the Spurs. Spoelstra is just the second head coach in NBA history to coach 1,300-plus games with one team, joining only Popovich. 'The Arison family and Pat Riley created a culture that is unique to any pro sports team,' Spoelstra said in November. 'There's a handful around that have the kind of stability and the continuity. But if you don't have that, it would have been two or three years in that position and I would have been out moving around and bouncing around, which is typical for this coaching profession.' Spoelstra, who is widely regarded as one of the NBA's top coaches, has nearly swept the coaching categories in the NBA's preseason survey of general managers for each of the last three seasons. Spoelstra was voted the best head coach in the NBA (69 percent of vote), best manager/motivator of people (37 percent) and the head coach with the best defensive schemes (23 percent) in the last survey of general managers ahead of the 2024-25 season. The Heat remains committed to Spoelstra, too, signing him to a lucrative eight-year contract extension in January 2024. The deal runs through the 2031-32 season when Spoelstra will be 61, and the 2031-32 season would also be his 24th season as the Heat's head coach. 'The coaching profession is an explosive profession and it's a shame because we've shown that you can do it and have tough years, but gain a lot of lessons from tough years and then become better from it,' Spoelstra said. 'But that's not really the case too often, particularly around this league. So I'm really grateful to have that opportunity to work for [Riley] and to continue to have his mentorship.' JAQUEZ TO NBA FINALS Heat forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. is one of four NBA players who will serve as media correspondents for this year's NBA Finals series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers. The NBA Player Correspondent Program gives players the opportunity to serve as media correspondents at events such as the NBA Draft, All-Star Weekend and NBA Finals. Jaquez will take on that role on the NBA's social platforms for Sunday's Game 2 in Oklahoma City. The other three players who will be media correspondents for this year's NBA Finals are Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (Game 1), Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (Game 3) and Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (Game 4).
Miami Herald
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Heat releases details and ticket info for 2025 home preseason schedule
The NBA Finals begin later this week. But the Miami Heat has already moved on to next season after its early first-round playoff exit, announcing its home preseason schedule for this upcoming season on Monday. The Heat will host three preseason games at Kaseya Center: Oct. 6 vs. Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 8 vs. San Antonio Spurs at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 17 vs. Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. The Heat's road preseason schedule has not yet been announced, but it's expected to include two road games and possibly a third game if plans to hold an exhibition game in Puerto Rico are finalized. That has the Heat playing a total of five to six games this preseason. Tickets for the Heat's three preseason games at Kaseya Center go on sale Friday at noon. Tickets can be purchased on or All Heat home games remain mobile-only entry, with tickets accessible via the Miami Heat App, and/or the Ticketmaster App to enter Kaseya Center. The Heat is scheduled to hold its annual media day on Sept. 29 before opening training camp on Sept. 30 to kick off the 2025-26 season. The complete preseason schedule and broadcast information will be released at a later date. The NBA is expected to release the regular-season schedule for all 30 teams in August. The Heat finished this past regular season with a losing record at 37-45 for the first time since the 2018-19 season and just the sixth time in Pat Riley's 30 seasons with the organization. The Heat has also been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Pat Riley regrets nearly passing on Dwyane Wade in 2003 NBA draft that changed everything
Pat Riley, the president of the Miami Heat, is one of the greatest minds in NBA history, a Hall of Famer, a championship coach, and a master architect of winning teams. But even legends have their moments of hesitation. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In a shocking reveal, Riley admitted he nearly didn't draft Dwyane Wade in 2003. Yes, the very player who would go on to redefine the Miami Heat. At the time, Pat Riley wasn't sure Dwyane Wade was the right choice. What followed turned into one of basketball's most unforgettable success stories. Pat Riley didn't feel confident about Dwyane Wade at first In a recent interview with ESPN on May 31, 2024, Pat Riley spoke about the 2003 NBA Draft. That year, the Miami Heat had the fifth pick. Riley had just stepped down as head coach in April 2003 and was now the team's president. He said, 'I've always liked coaching older guys. I thought we'd never be bad enough to get a top pick.' Riley explained he was mostly looking at point guards and centers that year. He said names like Kirk Hinrich, T.J. Ford, and Chris Kaman were high on the list. 'Dwyane Wade was there too, but I wasn't sure about him in the beginning,' he added. Dwyane Wade changed the Miami Heat's story On June 26, 2003, the Miami Heat picked Dwyane Wade during the NBA Draft in New York City. It became one of the best choices the team ever made. Wade quickly became a star. In his second season, in 2005, he helped take the Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals. In 2006, Pat Riley came back as head coach. That same year, with help from Shaquille O'Neal, Wade led the team to win the NBA title. He was named the Finals MVP. Later in 2010, Riley helped sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh. They joined Dwyane Wade to form the famous Big Three. Some fans didn't like how it looked. But Wade said it didn't need to look perfect. It was about the meaning. Dwyane Wade is now known as the greatest player in Heat history. It's hard to believe Pat Riley almost passed on him. That one pick helped build a winning legacy. Also Read:
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The knife wielded by real-life SAS Rogue Heroes soldier against Hitler's troops in WWII
A prized dagger which is said to have belonged to a founding member of the SAS has emerged for sale for £7,000. American-born Major Charles 'Pat' Riley, who was played by actor Jacob Ifan in the hit BBC series SAS: Rogue Heroes, was one of the elite soldiers who formed what was then the L Detachment Special Air Service Brigade in 1941. He fought alongside the legendary Paddy Mayne and carried the lethal weapon behind enemy lines during sabotage missions against the Germans and Italians. His Fairbairn Sykes commando knife, which has a 7ins double-edged blade, is etched with the words 'F-S Fighting Knife' and has a brown leather sheath. It would have been used by Major Riley during heartpounding close quarters combat. Major Riley's dagger has remained in his family for more than 80 years but is now being sold by his granddaughter at auctioneers Bishop & Miller, of Stowmarket, Suffolk. The vendor said her mother kept it under her mattress before she inherited it five years ago. Paul Walsham, militaria and medals specialist at Bishop & Miller, said: 'This Fairbairn Sykes knife is iconic in its own right as a symbol of the British commandos and special forces in the Second World War. 'It was likely carried by Pat Riley during some of the seminal operations of the fledgling Special Air Service Regiment. 'Pat Riley was one of the original founding members of 'L' Detachment, SAS Brigade, formed by David Stirling, a small formation, later expanded to a strength of five regiments due to the success of those early pioneers. 'Riley, characterised by his guts and determination never to give up, whatever the odds, is an absolute legend in the annals of the Special Air Service Regiment and his legacy survives to this day.' Major Riley, who was born in the US state of Wisconsin in 1915, moved at the age of seven with his family to Haltwhistle, Cumbria. He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1939 and was sent to the Western Desert in Egypt in 1941. He and three comrades paved the way for formation of the SAS when they launched a surprise raid by going under the wire and infiltrating the enemy position with great success. The quartet became known as the Tobruk Four and were asked to join the SAS by legendary Colonel Sir David Stirling. In January 1942 Colonel Stirling identified Bouerat Harbour as an important location to supply Rommel's forces and tasked the L Detachment with blowing up enemy ships, petrol dumps and tankers. The raiding party consisted of 16 men split into two groups, with Maj Riley leading one of them. As they made their way to Bouerat, his men were spotted by an enemy plane and shot at, with rocks they were hiding behind being shattered into tiny pieces. After being sited the group were subjected to bombing and strafing by more planes for several hours but escaped unscathed. Undaunted, Maj Riley led his six men into Bouerat at just after midnight on January 23 and they had two hours to carry out the mission, setting the explosives for 2.30am. Their biggest feat was attaching bombs to 18 large petrol carriers that were full with tens of thousands of gallons of fuel. At 2.30am, while the raiding party made their escape, the desert sky lit up from the explosions. As they sped off into the night in a truck they were ambushed by four Italian guards who peppered the vehicle with machine gun fire at point-blank range. The truck driver ploughed through the bullets and mowed down the guards in the process. Major Riley's recommendation for the DCM was published in the London Gazette in November 1942. It read: 'By skilled and daring leadership he succeeded in bluffing the enemy sentries. Thereby he avoided giving any alarm which would have interfered with the work of other parties operating in the same area. He has shown the greatest gallantry and the highest qualities of leadership.' In September 1943, the SAS landed at Bagnara on the Italian mainland, securing a bridgehead for the main landing. The raid on Termoli was followed by fierce fighting with German troops from the 16th Panzer Division. With complete carnage raging in the town Paddy Mayne decided at this point to engage in a game of billiards in an abandoned palazzo with Maj Riley, Bill Frazer and Phil Gunn. Major Riley later recalled: 'He just carried on with the game, I thought to myself, Well if you can do it chum, I'll do it with you. And we did. 'We finished the game, and then went outside to get things sorted.' Major Riley left the Army in 1945 and joined Cambridgeshire police but found it too sedate and so volunteered as a Captain with the Malayan Regiment. He was based in the Far East until 1959. After leaving the Army again, he ran the Dolphin Hotel pub in Colchester, Essex, and then retired to Hastings, East Sussex in 1980. His wife, Kaye, died in 1996 and he passed away in 1999 aged 84. The vendor, in a letter of provenance, said: 'Many years ago my Granddad Pat gave the knife to my mother who always kept it under her mattress.'
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dwyane Wade demanded more from Shaquille O'Neal after a poor 2007-08 start: "We need him to help lead this team in other ways"
The Miami Heat had a rough start to the 2007-08 campaign. Their main player, Dwyane Wade, clearly frustrated, knew something had to change. Wade and fellow star Shaquille O'Neal were expected to lead the team, but the former clearly felt he wasn't getting enough support. Just before December 2007, D-Wade publicly called on "Diesel" to finally step up and take charge, however that might look. The unraveling of "Diesel" At the time, the team from South Beach, coached by Pat Riley, held a 1–7 record. While that was already frustrating, it was even harder because they carried a burden they actually wanted to lose. Advertisement Just months earlier, the Heat were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the first round, despite being the clear favorite. It was the first time in 50 years that a reigning NBA champion had lost an opening series without winning a single game. A major reason for that collapse was O'Neal's declining impact. Injuries had taken a toll on his durability, and the previous season had been his least productive statistically. Once a dominant force in the paint and a three-time Finals MVP, "Diesel" now looked like a shadow of his former self. Early in the new season, the concerns only grew. The 7'1" center was averaging career lows: 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Offensively, Shaq's role kept shrinking — just 10 shot attempts a night compared to his long-time average of 17. And on defense, his presence no longer struck fear. The former Los Angeles Lakers star looked slower, less reactive and often couldn't stay on the court, fouling out of five straight games at one point. Advertisement Related: "I never saw one free agent come to the Bulls and say that they wanna play with Michael" - Scottie Pippen reinforces the notion that no other big-name players had interest in playing with MJ Wade challenged Shaq While Shaq was already 35 and had four championship titles to his name, Dwyane was just 25 with only one ring. One seemed a bit reluctant to make another run, while the other — a Finals MVP in 2006 — was eager to go for it again. As the frustrating season wore on, their differing mindsets became increasingly clear. Recognizing this, "Flash" felt the need to subtly call out his larger-than-life teammate. Advertisement "Even though he (O'Neal) is not getting the ball as much as he wants, we need him to help lead this team in other ways, whether it's rebounding the ball or passing the ball the way he knows how to pass," said Wade, per ESPN. Still, the skilled 6'4" shooting guard didn't just criticize — he encouraged. D-Wade made it clear this was their team. Leadership, he stressed, wasn't about one guy taking over — it was about shared effort between him and "Diesel" and that they'd "find a way to do it." By then, after playing together since 2004, Wade said he had become more vocal than ever about handling O'Neal. Yet he also understood a simple truth: motivation couldn't be forced. It had to come from within. "The main thing is Shaq has got to be self-motivated. He has got to be willing and ready to do it," emphasized the future Hall of Famer. Advertisement Unfortunately, those words didn't have the impact intended. It's tough to say whether "The Big Aristotle" just didn't have the mental drive anymore, or if his body simply couldn't keep up after so many years in the league — maybe it was a bit of both. Off-court issues — O'Neal was going through a tough divorce — likely played a role, too. However, what matters most is performance, and that just wasn't there. Shaquille continued to struggle, which ended his run of 14 straight All-Star appearances, and only a few months after Wade's comments, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Related: Ivica Zubac reflects on breakout year, Jokic battles, and more in Basketball Network exclusive
