Pat Riley on his favorite part about the Big Three: 'It reminded me of Showtime'

The Showtime era in the storied history of the Los Angeles Lakers was a period where the team played an exciting, fast-paced, run-and-gun style of basketball. As thrilling as it was to watch, it was equally unstoppable on the court. The mastermind behind the scheme was Pat Riley, a championship-caliber head coach who had players like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy at his disposal, who also made this electrifying way of playing ball possible.

The Heatless and The Showtime

Sometimes, history has its way of repeating itself, even in basketball, and Riley had the unique opportunity to witness it firsthand. Namely, the architect of "Showtime" was also the main executive behind the Miami Heat's Big Three era with Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh. In a unique way, those two iconic teams are more similar than they might initially seem, and "The Godfather" reflected on the parallels between them.

"The most fun part of that team for me, I loved it, 'cause I wasn't coaching it. The most fun part was when we got out on a break. And Dwyane was one wing, and then Dwyane would be throwing these lobs," said Riles while mimicking the iconic no-look pass from Wade to LeBron. "And then Dwyane would go out of bounds like this (spreading hands), Bron would be dunking it. It reminded me of Showtime in a lot of ways with those three players."

Just like Magic led his Purple and Gold squad the moment he grabbed the ball on the defensive end, pushing it coast-to-coast while having high-flyers trailing behind him, knowing the floor general would find them in that high-octane offense, Miami operated in the same way between 2010 and 2014. And the play that Riles described in this instance perfectly encompasses the essence of this philosophy.

One of the many iconic connections

Wade grabbed the ball after it bounced off a missed shot by the opposing team, and instead of slowing the transition to set up a 5-on-5 offense, "The Flash," as his nickname suggests, wasted no time initiating the fast break. He took the ball through the middle of the court, penetrated the painted area, and with a smooth bounce pass, found "The King," rolling full steam ahead for the slam. To cap it all off, Dwyane pulled an iconic airplane celebration, creating a photo that was synonymous with one of the greatest duos of all time.