Pat Riley coached basketball.
The National Basketball Association ( NBA ) is a major professional basketball league in North America . The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami . Patrick James Riley ( born March 20 , 1945 ) is an American professional basketball executive , and a former coach and player in the National Basketball Association ( NBA ) . He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995 and head coach in two separate tenures ( 1995 through 2003 , and 2005 through 2008 ) .