Pat Riley revives the NBA coach suit debate. Erik Spoelstra wants to keep sideline wear casual

MILWAUKEE — Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra don't disagree on much. Except sideline apparel.

And that's nothing new — they've had differing opinions for years on the subject of what coaches should wear on the sideline. Riley, the always-dapper Miami Heat president, wants NBA coaches to wear suits again. Spoelstra, the Heat coach, prefers the more-casual look used in recent years.

It has been a debate around the league at times in recent years, and it seems to be a talking point once again.

''He gave me a few suits back when I was an assistant coach, but I looked like the lead singer from the Talking Heads," Spoelstra said Tuesday before Miami's game in Milwaukee, referencing David Byrne, who famously wore an oversized suit as one of his calling cards. "I didn't realize I had to tailor the suit, too.''

The suit talk got resurrected on Sunday when the Los Angeles Lakers unveiled a statue in Riley's honor outside their arena. It's an image of Riley, on the sideline, wearing an Armani suit. That was the style he preferred when he coached the Lakers, New York and Miami — and still wears today.

''I wish it went back to coats and ties," Riley, speaking about coaches' apparel, said on Sunday. "I think an audience wants to see somebody on the sidelines who looks like a leader, dresses like a leader, acts like a leader.''

NBA coaches have enjoyed a relaxed policy since the bubble restart of the 2019-20 season, when quarter-zips, casual pants and sneakers became regular sideline apparel. Suits, ties and dress shoes have been out ever since.

He celebrated when the NBA ditched suits, and he wasn't alone. Spoelstra and the Heat staff have worn black polos, sweaters or quarter-zips with black pants ever since the bubble. If nothing else, it makes packing an easier process.

Spoelstra noted that Riley's look was, and remains, iconic.

''It's becoming a little bit different anyways in corporate America,'' Spoelstra said, noting the NBA isn't the only place where dressing-down has been the go-to look in recent years. ''But then I also see Pat's point of view. When I see the footage of him from the Lakers to the Knicks to the Heat, he did look sharp. But he wore suits differently than us mortals.''

In the NBA, the dress code got ramped up considerably thanks to Riley and the late Chuck Daly. Riley went with Armani; Daly's suits were Hugo Boss, and his shoes were so fancy that his friends coveted them. After Daly died, Rollie Massimino made no secret about raiding his friend's shoe collection — and wore what he took for the remainder of his own coaching career.

Bucks coach Doc Rivers wore the suits for years. He gets Riley's point — but acknowledged that going back to the old ways might not be easy.

A potential compromise idea: Rivers said he'd push to have to coaches don suits for the playoffs.

''I brought this up to someone and it's going to go through the chain," Rivers said. ''I do think it wouldn't be a bad idea for the playoffs because wearing suits shows the significance of the playoffs. ... I'd have to start working out again because none of my suits would fit anymore."

The last time Spoelstra wore a suit was September, when he attended Heat managing general partner Micky Arison's enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. There were two nights where Spoelstra had to dress up, and Riley took great delight in seeing it happen.

''I swear that's all Pat was talking about,'' Spoelstra said. ''I don't plan on wearing them again until the next Hall of Fame event that we get to go to.''

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