LeBron James, Pat Riley reminisce about what could've been had Heat run lasted longer

The story of the NBA cannot be told without mentioning LeBron James and Pat Riley.

For those wondering what might have been had their run in Miami lasted more than four years, you aren’t alone. Both men admit to having thoughts about what more they could’ve done together in Miami had James’ run with the Heat not ended in 2014, after four years and two NBA championships.

On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Boston Celtics. Before the game, Pat Riley was honored with the unveiling of a statue for his contributions as head coach of the “Showtime” Lakers, situated between the statues of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Following the Lakers’ loss to the Celtics on Sunday, Riley and James had nothing but good things to say about one another and even reflected on their time on South Beach.

“I wish him nothing but the best, but I’m going to be selfish here and say I wish had him for another six or eight years,” Riley said. “Would have been great. But we’ll never know, will we?”

James spent four years with the Heat and Riley, advancing to four NBA Finals appearances and winning back-to-back titles during that run. When James opted to leave after four years, it was to head back to Cleveland and bring a championship to the franchise that drafted him.

“I never said, ‘I’m going to go there for four years and decide to [leave],’” James said. “That’s just how the cards was played. But it’s human nature to look back and say, ‘Yeah, what could have been?’ That’s part of life. The four years that we had was great. Was able to pick up two chips. We lost two of them, unfortunately, but a lot of great memories. A lot of great time there. It would have been interesting to see what could have happened.” 

In the end, Riley understood the allure of returning home for James, but still wonders about what more they could’ve accomplished had Miami’s big three been given more time.

“I thought getting the Big Three — Dwyane [Wade], Chris Bosh and especially LeBron — that we had finally put together what I thought could become a dynasty, [and] it was,” Riley said. “Four trips to the Finals in a row, two world championships, it was an incredible run. And as a coach and as somebody who really thought about how to build that particular team, I saw something that could have lasted eight to 10 years. But I understood.” 

As a coach, Riley led the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s, and even won back-to-back titles in 1987 and 1988. Riley then added another championship as coach of the Heat in 2006.