How many rings does Pat Riley have? Looking at Heat legend's career in different roles

Pat Riley has been in and around the NBA for decades now and has seen great success. He is currently an executive for the Miami Heat, who just punched their ticket for the NBA Finals after knocking out the Boston Celtics.

Throughout his time in the league, Pat Riley has been a part of countless championship teams. His first ring came as a player for the LA Lakers.

Riley was the seventh overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft and started his career with the San Diego Rockets. After three seasons, he found himself with the Lakers. During his second year in LA, they managed to secure an NBA championship.

After nearly a decade as a player, Riley retired and moved on to coaching. He stuck with the Lakers, where he was the head coach during their "showtime" era. With two Hall of Famers in Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar leading the charge, Riley added four more rings to his collection.

His coaching career ran all the way into the late 2000s. Following his departure from LA, he coached the New York Knicks briefly before taking a job with the Miami Heat.

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In 2006, he led a young Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal to a title. This would be the last of his coaching career as he retired in 2008.

Over a span of 24 seasons, Riley won over 1,200 games. The same year he retired, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a head coach.

How many rings does Pat Riley have in total?

Part of what makes Pat Riley so special in the NBA is that he was able to succeed in every facet. Along with winning titles as a player and coach, he did so again as an executive as well.

When Riley no longer wanted to coach, the Miami Heat decided to keep him around in the front office. Among the biggest moves he ever made was bringing in LeBron James and Chris Bosh to pair alongside a prime Dwyane Wade.

With that big three leading the charge, the Heat went to four straight NBA Finals. They won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.

Following the 2014 season, LeBron made the shocking decision to return home to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In total, Riley has nine championship rings so far. One as a player, one as an assistant coach, four as head coach, and two as an executive. It is because of his constant success that he's known as "The Godfather of the NBA."

Riley will be hoping to make it 10 rings as the Heat prepare to face the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals.