MIAMI — Those Los Angeles Lakers players with statues outside of the team’s arena in downtown Los Angeles? They now will have a coach to guide them.

Sunday, Heat President Pat Riley, who guided the Lakers during their championship Showtime era in in ’80s, will become the first coach honored by the Lakers with an arena-front statue, in a ceremony scheduled before the team’s game against the Boston Celtics.

Among those scheduled to be alongside Riley are Heat scout Bob McAdoo, one of Riley’s championship Lakers players, and Heat Vice President Alonzo Mourning.

Riley guided the Lakers from 1981 to 1990 as part of his Hall of Fame coaching career, with championships in 1982, ’85, ’87 and ’88. The Lakers went 533-194 (.733) over Riley’s tenure, winning at least 50 games in each of his nine seasons and at least 60 games in five straight seasons.

Current Lakers coach JJ Redick, 41, said Riley’s Lakers’ legacy came before his time, but is appreciative of what Riley has done for the profession and for the Lakers franchise.

“I grew up watching 90s basketball and those Knicks and Heat teams,” Redick said of Riley’s post-Lakers coaching stops, “and just how physical and tough minded they were and then obviously played against Riles in Orlando when he was still coaching — the culture word is overused, but the sustainable level of consistency that Miami has had since he’s been there.

“I wish I was alive and well to watch 1980s basketball. But when you don’t have a TV until 1992, it makes it tough nor the memory capacity of 2-6 years-old to really watch those (Lakers) games. But, what he was able to do as a head coach for the Lakers is, I think it’s the North Star for any coach to be at one place for basically close to a decade and win a bunch of championships. That’s all we can ask for.”

Riley, 80, joins Lakers statues honoring former Lakers players Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and broadcaster Chick Hearn.

“My father, obviously, has had the biggest impact on me in my life,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jon Spoelstra, a longtime former NBA executive, “but Pat has had the second-biggest impact, certainly professionally, but also in life. He’s the greatest mentor that I’ve had. And he continues to be that, not only for me but for so many in the organization.”

The Heat schedule precluded more organizational presence, with the team hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night at Kaseya Center, where the court a year ago was named in Riley’s honor, and then returning for a practice there Monday ahead of a two-game trip.

Glue guy

With point guard Davion Mitchell having played through fever in Friday night’s victory in Atlanta, he was listed as doubtful for Saturday against the Grizzlies.

But no matter the lineup permutation, which included the Heat opening with a different lineup for the ninth consecutive game on Friday night, Spoelstra’s preference continues to be a role in that first five for Pelle Larsson.

“He’s the glue that really can help maximize lineups,” Spoelstra said of the second-year wing. “Whenever he’s been with that starting unit, it’s been incredibly dynamic. He does all the little things that aren’t seen or not really noticed on the outside, but we notice it. The cuts, the movement, taking charges, running the floor, just moving the basketball, being a ball mover, allowing the scorers to just focus on their strengths.”

On a roll

With Friday night’s 128-97 victory in Atlanta, the Heat now have four 30-point victories in calendar 2026.

As a matter of perspective, the Heat have had only 45 such wins over their 38 seasons, with the three in February the most in any month in franchise history. Six previous times, the Heat had a pair of such wins in a calendar month.

The only calendar year the Heat had more than four such wins were in 1994 and 2012.