The Los Angeles Lakers announced Monday that Pat Riley will be honored with a statue at “Star Plaza” outside Crypto.com Arena. Riley, who won six championships with Los Angeles — one as a player (1972), one as an assistant coach (1980) and four as head coach (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) — will be the eighth Lakers luminary to get a statue.
“Pat is a Lakers icon,” Lakers owner Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His professionalism, commitment to his craft and game preparation paved the way for the coaching we see across the league today. My dad recognized Pat’s obsession and ability to take talented players and coalesce them into a championship team. The style of basketball Pat and the Lakers created in the ’80s is still the blueprint for the organization today: an entertaining and winning team.”
The statue has been commissioned, but not completed. It is “set for completion in 2026,” according to the team, and its unveiling will be announced “at a later time.”
Riley, 79, got the news from Buss on a video call on Monday, according to the Lakers. Also on the call were Riley’s wife, Chris; Jerry West’s widow, Karen; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; Magic Johnson; James Worthy; Michael Cooper; A.C. Green; Vlade Divac and Kurt Rambis.
Outside the arena, Riley will become the first Lakers coach with a statue. His likeness will be alongside those of Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, West, Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Chick Hearn.
Last month, the Miami Heat, for whom Riley has served as team president since 1995, named their home court after him. “This is beyond even my imagination of a reward for a man’s life’s work,” Riley said then. Even though he’s in his 30th season with the Heat, many of his career’s most memorable moments came with the Lakers, particularly when he was head coach during the “Showtime” era. It is only right that they celebrate him, too.
The Detroit Pistons will battle the Chicago Bulls in a Central Division matchup on Monday night. Detroit is coming off a 124-104 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday, while Chicago dropped a 143-107 decision to the Houston Rockets that same day. The Bulls (5-9), who have lost two in a row, are 4-4 on the road this season. The Pistons (7-8), who have won three of their last four, are 3-4 on their home court this year. Chicago point guard Lonzo Ball (wrist) remains out, as does Ausar Thompson (reconditioning) for Detroit.
Tip-off from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Bulls lead the all-time regular-season series 146-135, including wins in 17 of the past 19 meetings. The Pistons are 4.5-point favorites in the latest Bulls vs. Pistons odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total points is 234.5 Detroit is at -187 on the money line (risk $187 to win $100), while Chicago is at +155. Before making any Pistons vs. Bulls picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 5 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 109-74 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning more than $3,000. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Bulls vs. Pistons and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Pistons vs. Bulls:
Bulls vs. Pistons spread: Pistons -4.5 Bulls vs. Pistons over/under: 234.5 points Bulls vs. Pistons money line: Pistons -187, Bulls +156 CHI: The Bulls are 5-5 against the spread in their last 10 games DET: The Pistons are 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 games Bulls vs. Pistons picks: See picks at SportsLine Bulls vs. Pistons streaming: FuboTV (Try for free) Why the Pistons can cover Point guard Cade Cunningham has been on fire for Detroit. In Sunday’s win at Washington, he registered his fourth triple-double of the season with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. In 15 games, all starts, he is averaging 23.1 points, 8.7 assists, 7.3 rebounds and one block in 36.4 minutes of action. He is connecting on 44.3% of his field goals and 81.8% of his free throws. He scored a season-high 35 points and added 11 assists, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals in a 127-120 overtime loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday.
Point guard Jaden Ivey poured in a season-high 28 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed four rebounds in Sunday’s win. He had 26 points, grabbed four boards and had four assists in a 115-103 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 4. In 14 starts, he is averaging 18.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32.4 minutes. He is hitting on 44.6% of his field goals and 71.9% of his free throws. See which team to pick here.
Why the Bulls can cover Shooting guard Zach LaVine helps power the Chicago offense. He is coming off a 15-point and five-rebound performance in Sunday’s loss to Houston. LaVine nearly had a triple-double in a 124-123 win at New York on Wednesday. In that game, he scored 31 points and added eight assists and seven rebounds. In 11 starts, he is averaging 21.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and four assists in 34.2 minutes.
Center Nikola Vucevic is one of three players averaging at least 20 points for the Bulls. In 14 games, he is averaging 20.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and three assists in 31.9 minutes. He has registered nine double-doubles in 2024-25. In the win over the Knicks on Wednesday, he scored 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and added three assists and two steals. See which team to pick here.
How to make Bulls vs. Pistons picks The model has simulated Bulls vs. Pistons 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 230 combined points. It also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Bob Love, a three-time All-Star at power forward for the Chicago Bulls, has died at the age of 81, the team announced on Monday. Love had been dealing with a long battle with cancer.
Love was one of four Bulls players to have his jersey number retired alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Jerry Sloan. He scored 12,623 points with the Bulls, which ranks third in team history behind only Jordan (29,277) and Pippen (15,123).
“Bob was a true legend and a beloved member of our family during his nine remarkable seasons with the Bulls,” the team said in a statement. “Bob was a three-time NBA All-Star, a tenacious defender, and a cornerstone of our team. With his No. 10 jersey hanging in the United Center rafters, his on-court achievements are forever etched in history, but Bob’s impact transceded basketball. He became an inspirational figure and a passionate community ambassador for the Bulls, dedicating himself to charitable causes and uplifting countless lives with his motivational speeches. We are profoundly grateful for his enduring contributions and legacy both on and off the court in Chicago.”
We mourn the passing of Bob Love, who passed away today in Chicago at the age of 81 after a long battle with cancer. pic.twitter.com/3EBUO9UTmp
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 19, 2024 Love grew up in Louisiana and was initially a two-sport star. He excelled in both football and basketball, and he was given a football scholarship to play for Southern University. Basketball wound up being his superior sport, though, and he grew into a 30-point scorer and three-time NAIA All-American playing at Southern.
Despite his stellar college career, it took Love a few years to get going as a professional. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1965 NBA Draft by the Cincinnati Royals but didn’t make the team. He tried again after a year with the Trenton Colonials of the Eastern Basketball League, and he wound up making the Royals roster in 1966. He spent two years as a reserve in Cincinnati before he was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1968 expansion draft. He spent 14 games with the Bucks before again getting traded, this time to the Bulls.
His career took off from there. He averaged 21 points and 8.7 rebounds in his first full season with the Bulls, and then earned All-Star nods in the next three seasons afterward. He remained with the Bulls into the 1976-77 season, but a back injury ultimately doomed his career after brief stints with the New York Nets and Seattle Supersonics.
Love suffered from a stutter both before and after his NBA career that made it hard for him to find work after retirement or speak to the press while he was a player. In 1985, however, he hired a speech coach and would eventually become a motivational speaker and director of community relations for the Bulls. He would go on to deliver hundreds of speeches annually, sharing the story of both his career and how he overcame his speech disability.
