Suave, handsome, intense yet apparently unflappable, Pat Riley is probably the most celebrated basketball coach in the world. "Riles," who wears his lucrative celebrity as easily as he does his Armani suits, is also one of the most successful.

Riley brought Showtime to the Los Angeles Lakers and won four NBA Championships, then built both the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat into title contenders and hot tickets in the 1990s. He is the by far the winningest coach in playoff history with 155 postseason victories to his credit going into the 1999-2000 season.

In regular-season action, he stands second to Lenny Wilkens (1,179) on the all-time list - Miami's first victory of the 2000-2001 season will be the 1,000th of Riley's career.