He left the Lakers being at the top of the world and this is why

The Los Angeles Lakers have had some of the best coaches in NBA history. Pat Riley wasn't the exception. He was elevated from assistant coach to head coach in the 1981-82 season after a drama between Paul Westhead and Magic Johnson. Riley would go on to win four championships as the Lakers head coach.

Pat Riley was named NBA Coach of the Year for the first time in the 1989-90 season. However, he decided to step down as Lakers head coach after they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs. He would go on to coach the New York Knicks, but no one could understand why he left a team that could continue winning.

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During the new ‘Legacy’ episode, Pat Riley explained that he knew his time with the team was over after the loss against the Suns. “When we lost in the playoffs, I could feel the walls closing in," Riley said. "I could feel it, and I fought it. I could feel them drawing away from me. I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that I changed. It was like war."

Riley concluded that the environment in the Lakers was a ticking bomb waiting to explode and so it was better to leave than to see it explode. “It was going to be an explosion somewhere, or we all just going to retire together happily ever after. That doesn’t happen.”

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Pat Riley wasn't only a good head coach, he was also a good player, as he won the NBA championship in 1972 with the Lakers. He then won as an assistant coach in the 1980 season. As a head coach, he won in 82, 85, 87 and 88 with the Lakers and once more in 2006 with the heat.