Back In The Day NBA

Rob Lowe's Party Lifestyle Once Got Him Banned By Pat Riley From Lakers Locker Room

Shandel Richardson

Actor Rob Lowe wears a ring jewelry design by his wife Sheryl Lowe, introducing new men's jewelry collection exclusively to Neiman Marcus. Actor Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl Lowe launch their first men's jewelry collection at Scottsdale Fashion Square on March 28, 2019. It's called Mr. Lowe and is inspired by Rob and the couple's two sons, Matthew and John Owen. X8i0405 Actor Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl Lowe launch their first men's jewelry collection at Scottsdale Fashion Square on March
Actor Rob Lowe wears a ring jewelry design by his wife Sheryl Lowe, introducing new men's jewelry collection exclusively to Neiman Marcus. Actor Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl Lowe launch their first men's jewelry collection at Scottsdale Fashion Square on March 28, 2019. It's called Mr. Lowe and is inspired by Rob and the couple's two sons, Matthew and John Owen. X8i0405 Actor Rob Lowe and his wife Sheryl Lowe launch their first men's jewelry collection at Scottsdale Fashion Square on March / Nick Oza/The Republic
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During the 1980s, actor Rob Lowe had a reputation for being a ladies man and party boy.

He starred in movies such as Class and The Outsiders, making him a heartthrob. At the time, the Los Angeles Lakers were known as "Showtime." Lowe loved basketball, so naturally he made friends with some of the players.

Everything was cool until Lakers coach Pat Riley stepped in during the 1988 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons. It was back during the days of the 2-3-2 format, meaning one team would play host to three straight games.


"You'd have three games, which took forever, they were an eternity and you're in Detroit for a long time," Lowe said during an appearance on The Breakfast Club. "I sent some friends up to somebody's room and Riley found out about it and that's why he banned me."


Remember, this was during the `80s when Lowe was caught up in the drug scene. He said Riley "100 percent banned" him after assisting the player score off the court.


"You think he wanted Earvin [Magic Johnson] messed up in that shit," Lowe said.

Lowe told another story about hanging with a player whose performance suffered during the series.

"I took one of my guys out to Mr. Chow [in Beverly Hills] and those were the days I was doing my thing," Lowe said. "I took something and he was like, `What that?' I go, `It's called a Quaalude.'

After the player tried it, Lowe said, "He went 0 for 34. You look up the stats and you'll know who it was."

We have a pretty good idea who it was but you'll just have to check the box scores.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com