Heat title 'validated' Riley: 'Every place I went, there was greatness there'

"There wasn't anything that I experienced in L.A. that I didn't experience here, other than the dynasty type of thing," he said of his Heat tenure.

Asked to name an all-time starting five of those he coached, he made sure to leave room for 2006 Heat champions Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal, alongside Ewing and the Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and Johnson.

"We need a seven-man rotation there," he quipped. "I would say that's a pretty formidable lineup of players to be able to just go through your career with. I've had the best of the best. I'm the most-blessed man here.

"Every place I went, there was greatness there."

Friday, he again was flanked by greatness, with West and Johnson by his side, although neither was required to address the audience.

"This is incredible," Riley said as he began his 24-minute address with a series of nostalgic vignettes, which included tributes to Heat owner Micky Arison and Mourning, and ended with a statement of affection for his wife, Chris, whom he termed "a forever woman."

Earlier, Riley said he has been particularly blessed to have had Arison as his team's owner over these past 13 years that have seen him step down as coach, return during the 2005-06 title season, and then step back up full time to the front office this past April.

"I'm not the easiest person to be around and to work for, because it's all about the game and trying to win and I never took losing very well," he said. "So my personality wasn't one of being effusive all the time, even when we were doing well."

As much as anything, Friday left Riley in a reflective state, unsure, at 63, of what comes next.

"The Hall of Fame is the beginning of something else," he said. "Coaching might be behind me, but leading is not."

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