NBA

Erik Spoelstra Confirms That Meeting With Pat Riley Is A Terrifying Experience

Pat Riley is an intimidating guy for many reasons: his amazing career success, his slicked-back hair, that stare…oh, and he’s 6-4, too. Of course, last summer’s free agency coup enhanced his aura, and due to that slicked-back hair and what’s often seen as a ruthless, unforgiving nature, comparisons of Riley to the Godfather (like the one you can see to the left) are inevitable. And apparently, such comparisons are truer than we ever knew.

Before Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night, Spoelstra was asked about his interactions with Riley. Here’s what he said:

“If you know Pat, you go into his office, he calls you in there and it’s like talking to the Godfather. The lights are always dim. He can see you, but you can’t really see him.”

Is Spoelstra messing with us? Can this possibly be true? Could the actual Riley really be that perfect a representation of the most cartoonish idea of him? Dimmed lights? For all we know, Spoelstra was just having some fun at the expense of those of us who’ve never had the Riley experience, but we’d much rather believe he isn’t. You hear about things that are too good to be true all the time – well, this anecdote is too good to be false.

[Ira Winderman via SPORTSbyBROOKS]

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