The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 483 - 100 The Long Revenge

"Every outburst from Riley was meticulously planned in the past, a means to motivate his players," Magic Johnson said. "But in the 1987 Western Conference Finals, Riley lost control. He always lost it whenever he clashed with Ah Gan."

After the fourth game, he berated everyone in the locker room, calling their play a pile of dog shit, criticizing their defense, their shooting, and for letting Ah Gan score easily under the basket.

Normally, such an outburst would have made the players feel ashamed, panicked, and someone would step up to take responsibility, gathering strength for the next game.

But this time was different.

Riley found that his players were expressionless, not even listening to him, and they no longer cared about his scolding.

Turning around, Riley unleashed his fury on a glass fire extinguisher cabinet, shattering the glass with a punch. His hand was wounded by the shards.

Blood dripped from the cuff of his custom-made Armani white shirt as Riley silently walked out of the locker room and closed the door, with only the team doctor following him.

Without a single word, Lakers players quietly changed their clothes, then went back to wait on the team bus.

Twenty minutes later, Riley took his usual seat in the front row, his hand wrapped in thick gauze, and he remained silent all the way back to Los Angeles.

"No one mentioned the incident again," Johnson said. "It was a forbidden topic. Otherwise, Riley would have to admit that he also had weaknesses, and he didn’t want to do that."

Four days later, the Trail Blazers eliminated the Lakers, making their way to the NBA Finals.

The Lakers’ 1987 season came to an end. They had an incredible run, finishing with 64 wins and 18 losses, with Magic Johnson’s performance worthy of the regular season MVP in any other year.

But they met the Portland Trail Blazers and Ah Gan, whose average of 38 points per game and a single game high of 81 points were too stunning, causing Johnson to fall out of favor, just like Larry Bird did in 1986.

Magic Johnson was still the leader in Riley’s eyes and still a friend he could trust, but he could feel that Johnson no longer had faith in his coaching.

When Riley realized this, he knew his time with the Lakers was running out.

Owner Jerry Buss soon summoned Riley and told him the best course of action would be to release him from his position as head coach.

It was a heartfelt talk. Buss genuinely thanked Riley for his contributions to the Lakers and offered him a considerable financial compensation package for his departure.

Buss also agreed to announce that Riley was stepping down as Lakers coach as a "mutual decision."

Riley was reluctant to leave; he believed that with Johnson at his best, the Lakers had the strength to claim one or two more championship rings.

Unfortunately, like the 1960s Lakers with West and Elgin Baylor, abundantly talented yet unable to surpass the Celtics.

Ah Gan and the suddenly rising Portland Trail Blazers were the Boston Celtics of the 1980s.

Riley accepted the decision and the first person he went to see was Magic Johnson.

Magic Johnson’s doorbell rang, and to his surprise, he found Riley standing at his doorstep.

"Buck, I’m leaving," Riley said. "The guys no longer respond to me; it’s time for me to go."

Buck was the nickname given to a young, energetic, and innocent-smiling Magic Johnson when he first joined the Lakers, like a newborn deer.

Now, Riley used that nickname as he had when he first met Johnson, to mark the end of their coach-player relationship.

Tears welled up in both their eyes.

For the next hour, Riley sat on the steps outside Johnson’s home, sobbing as he bid his farewell.

Riley expressed deep regret about this goodbye, saying the Lakers still had a great future ahead of them, and their journey was not over.

Magic Johnson agreed with Riley’s viewpoint, but he knew it was inevitable that Riley would leave; Riley had already lost the support of the players, and even his relationship with Jerry West had been affected.

West was plagued by a great fear of the Trail Blazers; he had Celtics PTSD and now, seeing a new Bill Russell and the Celtics rising, West could no longer tolerate the Lakers constantly losing to the Trail Blazers.

West thought that Riley had wasted the Lakers’ roster’s talent; his overly emotional coaching made the team vulnerable when facing Portland, plunging them into a black hole of negativity.

Riley, on the other hand, believed that West had not valued the development of the team’s inside game; not acquiring Walton in 1986 or trading for James Donaldson in 1987, West had underestimated the threat from Portland.

However, many years later, they made amends and admitted that there was no solution at the time; Ah Gan was a person who transcended time.

The day Pat Riley officially announced his resignation, Larry Bird felt a tinge of sadness he couldn’t explain himself.

Part of it stemmed from the bond formed over two consecutive years of meeting in the finals between two archrival teams.

Another part was that this bond, which started to dissipate from 1986-1987, would never return.

Three days after the Los Angeles Lakers lost the Western Conference finals, the Boston Celtics were defeated by the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 at the Boston Garden.

It was a dirty, exhausting series that physically and mentally drained everyone, with the Pistons dragging the Bostonians down in seven games, dragging down Bird, McHale, and Parrish.

Lan Bi’er almost killed Bird during the series, and after defeating the Celtics in Game 7, he bowed triumphantly to the fans around the arena, celebrating the victory.

The Celtics lost the opportunity to seek revenge against the Trail Blazers in the finals—in truth, Bird knew that even if they had made it to the finals, they would have had a hard time competing against the Trail Blazers.

The Detroiters were ecstatic; through a series of trades, drafts, and team building, they rapidly ascended in the Eastern Conference, challenging the Celtics’ reign and taking the Eastern Conference title.

Johnson and Bird both failed, successively defeated by new challengers, as their era rapidly came to a close.

However, their relationship grew closer after this defeat.

After the finals in 1984 and 1985, Converse wanted them to collaborate on a commercial.

The answer they received was "don’t even think about it"; both were adamant, seeing the other as a mortal enemy.

This failure made them realize that such enmity was meaningless, and the competition on the court would inevitably come to an end.

Johnson agreed to shoot the commercial; he visited Bird’s home in Indiana, where Bird’s mother and brother warmly welcomed him.

To Johnson’s surprise, Bird’s mother was a die-hard fan of Isiah Thomas, and despite the Pistons defeating her son in the Eastern Conference finals, she still loved Thomas.

Johnson realized that hatred on the court wasn’t that important; basketball was just basketball. He and Bird talked in depth and discovered they had a lot in common, that they got along well.

They became very good friends and started a long-lasting friendship. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

After a brief rest, Pat Riley made an important decision in the summer of 1987—he would head to the South Coast to be involved in the building of a new league team.

The person who invited him was none other than Stu-Inman, the former general manager of the Trail Blazers, and joining him on the journey was Spoelstra, the Trail Blazers’ vice president of marketing.

Riley embarked on a long vengeance against the Trail Blazers.

————Published in 2003, excerpt from "When the Game was Ours," by Jackie MacMullan.