Pat Riley loses big on Dodgers' playoff upset

The Los Angeles Dodgers were upset by the Milwaukee Brewers in a four-game sweep in the National League Championship Series. This was a big disappointment to their players, Dodger fans and Miami Heat president Pat Riley.

Back in 1989, after the Los Angeles Lakers had won back-to-back titles, then-coach Riley trademarked the term "Three-Peat" in anticipation of a third straight championship. The Detroit Pistons ruined that dream with a Finals sweep that summer, but to this day, Riley gets royalties on any three-peat merchandise.

Pat Riley has cashed in on his trademark only a few times

Winning three consecutive titles in the modern era is quite rare, as the Dodgers can attest after dropping all four games to the Brewers. There has only been one three-peat in baseball since Riley got his trademark, when the New York Yankees won titles from 1998-2000.

No one has ever won three straight Super Bowls, with the 2024 Kansas City Chiefs the most recent team to fall short. In hockey, the most recent three-peat came from the New York Islanders, who took home four straight Stanley Cups from 1980-83. In the NBA, the Lakers finally three-peated from 2000-02, which followed two separate three-peats from the Chicago Bulls, from 1991-93 and 1996-98. All three teams were coached by Phil Jackson.

Ironically, those Bulls three-peats came at the expense of Riley's own teams. Michael Jordan's team beat Riley's New York Knicks in the playoffs in every season of his first three-peat, then defeated Riley's Heat in 1996 and 1997 on their way to the second. The royalties from "Three-Peat" t-shirts, caps and sweatshirts was probably small consolation for all the losses.

Pat Riley donates "Three-Peat" proceeds to charity

Riley doesn't keep his share of the trademark royalties, instead donating the proceeds to charitable organizations. He came closest to getting a three-peat of his own in 2014, when the Heat fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals after winning it all in 2012 and 2013. With the new CBA helping to create parity — there hasn't been a repeat NBA champion since 2018 — three-peats could get even rarer.

The Dodgers and their All-Star roster seemed like the best three-peat candidate in years, but their demise goes to show how difficult it is to win multiple playoff series. Players get old or get injured, close plays go the other way or a team runs into a powerhouse like this year's Brewers.

That's why Riley seems unlikely to ever collect on another of his trademarks. If there's only been four three-peats in the four major American pro sports since 1989, Riley may not live to see shorts with his other trademark: "Four-Ward."