Lakers Rumors: Phil Jackson Expected to Get Statue Outside Arena After Pat Riley

After the Los Angeles Lakers announced a new statue honoring legendary head coach Pat Riley, another coach is expected to get a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena as well.

Per NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers' announcement about beginning work on a statue honoring Riley is "believed to be a prelude to an eventual announcement about a statue for Phil Jackson," who coached Los Angeles from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2011.

Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls on their way to six championships in the 1990s before joining Los Angeles in 1999. He led the late, great Kobe Bryant and his co-star Shaquille O'Neal to three straight championships in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and led the Lakers to another Finals appearance in 2004.

In his second stint as Los Angeles' head coach, the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in the 2008 Finals before winning back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. He ended his coaching career in Los Angeles in 2011 having won 11 total championships as a coach, five of which came with the Lakers.

In November, the Lakers announced they would honor Riley with a statue on Star Plaza outside Crypto.com Arena that is set to be completed by 2026. He is the eighth Laker to be given a statue, joining Elgin Baylor, Chick Hearn, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, O'Neal and Bryant.

Riley led the Showtime Lakers to four championships as a head coach, won one championship as an assistant and another as a player for Los Angeles in 1972.

While there is no official word from the Lakers about whether Jackson will get a statue, it only seems fitting that one of the greatest coaches in NBA history would receive such an honor.