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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James smiles during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Katie Chin)<\/p>\n
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LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 LeBron James and Pat Riley both sometimes wonder what might have been if their four-year partnership with the Miami Heat had lasted a whole lot longer.<\/p>\n
After the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue Sunday honoring Riley\u2019s landmark career as the head coach of the 1980s Showtime teams, James and the current Lakers took the court and lost 111-98 to the Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n
Riley and James praised each other Sunday, and both NBA icons also openly speculated about the paths not taken after James\u2019 four-year Miami tenure, which ended more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish him nothing but the best, but I\u2019m going to be selfish here and say I wish had him for another six or eight years,\u201d Riley said. \u201cWould have been great. But we\u2019ll never know, will we?\u201d<\/p>\n
Riley was the Heat\u2019s president \u2014 the job he still holds \u2014 when James famously left the Cleveland Cavaliers for South Beach in 2010 to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. That superteam reached four NBA Finals and won two championships in their four outstanding years together, but James left to go back to Cleveland in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never said, \u2018I\u2019m going to go there for four years and decide to (leave),’\u201d James said. \u201cThat\u2019s just how the cards was played. But it\u2019s human nature to look back and say, \u2018Yeah, what could have been?\u2019 That\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
When James left Miami, he cited his paramount desire to bring a championship to his native Northeast Ohio \u2014 a goal he accomplished in 2016 by beating the Golden State dynasty.<\/p>\n
Riley has always said he understood James\u2019 decision. While many observers also thought Miami\u2019s salary cap situation at the time presented serious challenges to future title contention after the Heat lost to San Antonio in the 2014 NBA Finals, Riley clearly thinks those obstacles wouldn\u2019t have been a match for James\u2019 brilliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought getting the Big Three \u2014 Dwyane, Chris Bosh and especially LeBron \u2014 that we had finally put together what I thought could become a dynasty, (and) it was,\u201d Riley said. \u201cFour 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old James put additional perspective on his decision Sunday: He thought he was a lot closer than he actually was to the end of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have never gave myself \u2026 another 12 years to be playing this game, either,\u201d James said. \u201cSo that\u2019s another story.\u201d<\/p>\n
James, who was 29 when he left Miami, is currently playing his unprecedented 23rd NBA season. He played in his 1,600th career regular-season game Sunday, moving just 11 games behind Robert Parish for the NBA longevity record.<\/p>\n
James said he has always got along well with Riley, who had moved into the front office full-time and ceded the Miami bench to Erik Spoelstra before James\u2019 arrival.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the all-time greats to have ever been a part of this league, as a player, coach, executive, front-office executive, everything,\u201d James said of Riley. \u201cObviously what he did here for the Lakers organization in the \u201980s goes without saying, and rightfully so, him having a statue outside the building. I spent four years with him and I\u2019ve got much respect for him, for his family and everything. It\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
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