A Basketball Life Like a Box of Chocolates

Heat court Wednesday dedicated to Pat Riley, who’s still running

Even at 77, the Heat president is as involved as ever, getting up early, watching film, overseeing player workouts, guiding coach Erik Spoelstra and sizing up the team’s latest draft pick, Nikola Jovic, of Serbia.

In the ever-evolving, analytical realm of modern pro basketball, Pat Riley has never shied from his decidedly old-school approach. The Heat president, turning 77 next week, still favors an in-person approach over Zoom meetings, still prefers pen and paper over laptops and still values face-to-face meetings over phone calls.

That decidedly low-tech approach, in an era of high-definition analytics and player-tracking data, has served Riley well throughout his basketball life — as a player, coach and now executive.

“I like to watch guys move,” Riley said. “I like to watch guys run and jump. I like to watch guys play and scrimmage. To me, that’s how you get a great evaluation, by being in person. I don’t get a lot of that from computer screens.”

Riley’s dedication to the Heat remains as strong as ever. Even at 77, he’s as involved as ever, getting up early, watching film, overseeing player workouts, guiding coach Erik Spoelstra and sizing up the team’s latest draft pick, Nikola Jovic, of Serbia.

“Nothing’s really changed for me,” he said.

The Heat will dedicate the AmericanAirlines Arena court to Riley on Wednesday night, at halftime of their game against the Boston Celtics, a franchise Riley coached to the 1986 NBA championship.

The Heat court will feature Riley’s signature and the years he served as Heat coach (1995-2003) and president (2003-present).

Riley’s impact on the Heat has been enormous. He has been part of two Heat championship teams, as coach in 2006 and as president in 2012 and 2013.

He also has overseen the development of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh into future Hall of Famers.

Riley said the Heat’s court dedication will be “very humbling.”

“Winning is the only thing that matters in pro basketball,” he said. “But I’ve been very lucky. I’ve had a lot of great players play for me.”

The Heat have won three championships since Riley became president in 2003, tying them with the Celtics for the most in the Eastern Conference during that span.

Riley has also helped make the Heat one of the NBA’s most stable and successful franchises.

The Heat have made the playoffs 21 consecutive seasons, the longest active streak in the NBA.

Riley, who turns 77 on March 20, said he has no plans to retire.

“I’m still having too much fun,” he said. “I love the game. I love the competition. I love the people.”