Pat Riley says Heat owner Micky Arison saved his coaching career

Pat Riley has been called the Godfather of the NBA, and for good reason.

Few figures in league history can match his résumé. Nine championships as a player, coach or executive.

Twenty-five percent of all NBA Finals since the 1970s have had Riley in them. Showtime Lakers, grit-and-grind Knicks, title-winning Heat. The guy is basketball royalty.

But even Riley admits it might not have turned out that way without Heat owner Micky Arison.

“He saved basically my coaching life, I think,” Riley told South Florida reporters, recalling the summer of 1995.

At that point, his future was in doubt until Arison gave him the shot in Miami.

“When that finally came to fruition and I became the coach in September, we both went to work,” Riley said.

The two have been tied together ever since. Riley called Arison “a tremendously honest guy” who always wanted to win.

“He showed tremendous loyalty to myself, our staff, the people in the organization that have been there ever since he bought it,” Riley said.

Together, they’ve built a model franchise. Championships, conference finals, and an identity that South Florida fans can bank on night after night.

“Even the years that we knew we may not be the team, we fought like hell to be the team,” Riley said.

Riley’s legacy stands on its own. But as he put it, none of it happens in Miami without Arison taking a chance nearly 30 years ago.