Little known fact is that Pat Riley was an end of the bench player on the Suns 1976 Finals team. He never played a game in the series though.Nodack wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:11 amI found it very educational in a historical sense and entertaining as a show. I wasn’t watching it because I was a fan of the Lakers. My second favorite team is whomever is playing the Lakers. I wasn’t worried about being converted to being a Laker fan just because I watched. Seeing how Buss bought the team and mortgaged everything he had and then some trying to win was interesting.
Seeing the story of Pat Riley was intriguing. He played for the Lakers and then afterwards was just looking for any job to keep going. He started out as the guy who filmed practices. He moved onto doing some announcing. After their coach had his accident Riley managed to finagle his way into being an assistant coach and the other assistant coach became head coach. After that coach was fired Riley became the interim head coach until they could find a replacement. Riley did well enough that he became the regular head coach and the rest is history.
Edit: Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 1989–90, but stepped down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. I was living in L.A. at the time and had a rivalry with a total Lakers fan living in the apartment next to me. He guaranteed the Lakers would crush the Suns. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs I left him a poster on his door that said “Suns Win!”. I waited for him to come home from work and heard him walk up the stairs and then I heard a loud “Fuck You!”. Fun times.
![]()
Basketball Movies/Shows
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
I wasn't a Suns fan until my family moved to Phoenix in '89. Before that, I was a Laker fan, so I recall a lot of these things in the show. Granted, not in great detail, but what I saw on tv or was able to consume in the newspaper or magazines(just like everyone else outside of LA).
"There are 3 rules I live by: never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy with the same first name as a city & never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Everything else is cream cheese."
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
I think you meant to post on this website:Nodack wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:11 amI found it very educational in a historical sense and entertaining as a show. I wasn’t watching it because I was a fan of the Lakers. My second favorite team is whomever is playing the Lakers. I wasn’t worried about being converted to being a Laker fan just because I watched. Seeing how Buss bought the team and mortgaged everything he had and then some trying to win was interesting.
Seeing the story of Pat Riley was intriguing. He played for the Lakers and then afterwards was just looking for any job to keep going. He started out as the guy who filmed practices. He moved onto doing some announcing. After their coach had his accident Riley managed to finagle his way into being an assistant coach and the other assistant coach became head coach. After that coach was fired Riley became the interim head coach until they could find a replacement. Riley did well enough that he became the regular head coach and the rest is history.
Edit: Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 1989–90, but stepped down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. I was living in L.A. at the time and had a rivalry with a total Lakers fan living in the apartment next to me. He guaranteed the Lakers would crush the Suns. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs I left him a poster on his door that said “Suns Win!”. I waited for him to come home from work and heard him walk up the stairs and then I heard a loud “Fuck You!”. Fun times.
![]()
Spoiler: show/hide
You now need to reread "Seven Seconds or Less" cover-to-cover ten times to redeem yourself.
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
According to Basketball Reference he played one minute in Game 3, which was his final game in the NBA.Superbone wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 11:10 amLittle known fact is that Pat Riley was an end of the bench player on the Suns 1976 Finals team. He never played a game in the series though.Nodack wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:11 amI found it very educational in a historical sense and entertaining as a show. I wasn’t watching it because I was a fan of the Lakers. My second favorite team is whomever is playing the Lakers. I wasn’t worried about being converted to being a Laker fan just because I watched. Seeing how Buss bought the team and mortgaged everything he had and then some trying to win was interesting.
Seeing the story of Pat Riley was intriguing. He played for the Lakers and then afterwards was just looking for any job to keep going. He started out as the guy who filmed practices. He moved onto doing some announcing. After their coach had his accident Riley managed to finagle his way into being an assistant coach and the other assistant coach became head coach. After that coach was fired Riley became the interim head coach until they could find a replacement. Riley did well enough that he became the regular head coach and the rest is history.
Edit: Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 1989–90, but stepped down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. I was living in L.A. at the time and had a rivalry with a total Lakers fan living in the apartment next to me. He guaranteed the Lakers would crush the Suns. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs I left him a poster on his door that said “Suns Win!”. I waited for him to come home from work and heard him walk up the stairs and then I heard a loud “Fuck You!”. Fun times.
![]()
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
OK. I got my info from this Wikipedia page about the 76 Finals:JeremyG wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 12:40 pmAccording to Basketball Reference he played one minute in Game 3, which was his final game in the NBA.Superbone wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 11:10 amLittle known fact is that Pat Riley was an end of the bench player on the Suns 1976 Finals team. He never played a game in the series though.Nodack wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:11 amI found it very educational in a historical sense and entertaining as a show. I wasn’t watching it because I was a fan of the Lakers. My second favorite team is whomever is playing the Lakers. I wasn’t worried about being converted to being a Laker fan just because I watched. Seeing how Buss bought the team and mortgaged everything he had and then some trying to win was interesting.
Seeing the story of Pat Riley was intriguing. He played for the Lakers and then afterwards was just looking for any job to keep going. He started out as the guy who filmed practices. He moved onto doing some announcing. After their coach had his accident Riley managed to finagle his way into being an assistant coach and the other assistant coach became head coach. After that coach was fired Riley became the interim head coach until they could find a replacement. Riley did well enough that he became the regular head coach and the rest is history.
Edit: Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 1989–90, but stepped down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. I was living in L.A. at the time and had a rivalry with a total Lakers fan living in the apartment next to me. He guaranteed the Lakers would crush the Suns. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs I left him a poster on his door that said “Suns Win!”. I waited for him to come home from work and heard him walk up the stairs and then I heard a loud “Fuck You!”. Fun times.
![]()
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_NBA_Finals
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
He had a role in helping the Suns get into the playoffs that year, though, especially in a late-season win over the Lakers in L.A. that kept the Suns ahead in the playoff standings. The Lakers had refused to reup his contract earlier in the season and instead traded him to the Suns (for either a couple of second-round picks, or the rights to ABA player John Roche and a second-round pick; accounts vary). So Riley coming off the bench to hit 6-of-8 and score 14 points in 15 minutes in a close win was a bit of payback.Superbone wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 11:10 amLittle known fact is that Pat Riley was an end of the bench player on the Suns 1976 Finals team. He never played a game in the series though.Nodack wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:11 amI found it very educational in a historical sense and entertaining as a show. I wasn’t watching it because I was a fan of the Lakers. My second favorite team is whomever is playing the Lakers. I wasn’t worried about being converted to being a Laker fan just because I watched. Seeing how Buss bought the team and mortgaged everything he had and then some trying to win was interesting.
Seeing the story of Pat Riley was intriguing. He played for the Lakers and then afterwards was just looking for any job to keep going. He started out as the guy who filmed practices. He moved onto doing some announcing. After their coach had his accident Riley managed to finagle his way into being an assistant coach and the other assistant coach became head coach. After that coach was fired Riley became the interim head coach until they could find a replacement. Riley did well enough that he became the regular head coach and the rest is history.
Edit: Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 1989–90, but stepped down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. I was living in L.A. at the time and had a rivalry with a total Lakers fan living in the apartment next to me. He guaranteed the Lakers would crush the Suns. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs I left him a poster on his door that said “Suns Win!”. I waited for him to come home from work and heard him walk up the stairs and then I heard a loud “Fuck You!”. Fun times.
![]()
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Nice!
In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
They should make a docuseries called, "Fuck the Lakers," where they show some of the Lakers' biggest failures, chokes, losses, with interviews from their opponents and most hated rivals. I'd watch that shit.
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Now we're talking!
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
You might be on to something.... I think even the lakers fans would dig it. They tend to lean into the hatred they get.
Marty... You should franchise that shit with other sports too:
"Fuck the Yankees"
"Fuck the Cowboys"

Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
I just watched S1 E3 which shows the origin stories of Riley's post basketball career and it's pretty funny how they portray him. Big ol' disheveled hair and giant mustache which is funny in itself knowing the slicked back persona he becomes later on. Also, liked a little detail where they showed him in his number 12 Suns jersey in a framed photo on the wall of his "office." The Suns being the last stop of his playing career. Maybe a little detail that you missed, 'Dack.BKinSJC wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 2:08 pmHe had a role in helping the Suns get into the playoffs that year, though, especially in a late-season win over the Lakers in L.A. that kept the Suns ahead in the playoff standings. The Lakers had refused to reup his contract earlier in the season and instead traded him to the Suns (for either a couple of second-round picks, or the rights to ABA player John Roche and a second-round pick; accounts vary). So Riley coming off the bench to hit 6-of-8 and score 14 points in 15 minutes in a close win was a bit of payback.Superbone wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 11:10 amLittle known fact is that Pat Riley was an end of the bench player on the Suns 1976 Finals team. He never played a game in the series though.Nodack wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:11 amI found it very educational in a historical sense and entertaining as a show. I wasn’t watching it because I was a fan of the Lakers. My second favorite team is whomever is playing the Lakers. I wasn’t worried about being converted to being a Laker fan just because I watched. Seeing how Buss bought the team and mortgaged everything he had and then some trying to win was interesting.
Seeing the story of Pat Riley was intriguing. He played for the Lakers and then afterwards was just looking for any job to keep going. He started out as the guy who filmed practices. He moved onto doing some announcing. After their coach had his accident Riley managed to finagle his way into being an assistant coach and the other assistant coach became head coach. After that coach was fired Riley became the interim head coach until they could find a replacement. Riley did well enough that he became the regular head coach and the rest is history.
Edit: Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in 1989–90, but stepped down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. I was living in L.A. at the time and had a rivalry with a total Lakers fan living in the apartment next to me. He guaranteed the Lakers would crush the Suns. When the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs I left him a poster on his door that said “Suns Win!”. I waited for him to come home from work and heard him walk up the stairs and then I heard a loud “Fuck You!”. Fun times.
![]()
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
For sure, check out Riles from his Phoenix days. He was significantly less L.A. glam back then:Superbone wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 6:01 pm
I just watched S1 E3 which shows the origin stories of Riley's post basketball career and it's pretty funny how they portray him. Big ol' disheveled hair and giant mustache which is funny in itself knowing the slicked back persona he becomes later on. Also, liked a little detail where they showed him in his number 12 Suns jersey in a framed photo on the wall of his "office." The Suns being the last stop of his playing career. Maybe a little detail that you missed, 'Dack.

Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Great pic! Reminds me that we also had Kurt Rambis for a spell.
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Also AC Green, Shaq, Keith Erickson and Gail Goodrich are best known as Lakers. Probably a few more.
“Are you crazy?! You think I’m going to go for seven years and try to get there? You enjoy the 2030 draft picks that we have holding? I want to try to see the game today.” — Ish 3/13/25
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Hand me downs.
In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
There's the one who won 3 championships with the Lakers that shall not be named...

"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.
- The Bobster
- Posts: 7351
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 1:04 pm
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Mel Counts comes to mind. Mike McGee. Shannon Brown. Ronnie Price. I'm sure they are plenty more.
Author of The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695
Available from Scarecrow Press at - https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810890695
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Keep, forgetting to mention. Winning Time portrays Chick Hearn as a jerk. Kind of made me feel good as a Suns fan. He’s got nothing on our Al McCoy.
Synchronicity and all that jazz, man.
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
"Cool is getting us blown out!"
-Shaheen Holloway
Re: Basketball Movies/Shows
Didn’t see this video podcast from May until recently, you might enjoy it:
"I'm a Deandre Ayton guy."--Al McCoy, September 21, 2022.