Lakers Legend Reveals He Was Once Drafted By Dallas Cowboys

He could have taken quite a different career path.

November 16, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former pro basketball players, Kurt Rambis, Dr. J, Norm Nixon, Irvin "Magic" Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar James Worthy, coach Pat Riley, coach Bill Sharman, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West on stage after the ceremony unveiling the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar statue in front of the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Hall of Fame former Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley almost explored an entirely different pro sports career coming out of the University of Kentucky in the 1967 NBA Draft.

During a recent appearance on "The OGs," a podcast hosted by Riley's former Heat acolytes Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller, Riley revealed that he was once drafted by NFL club the Dallas Cowboys — despite not playing college football.

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"The NFL used to take high school football players — which I was, I was a quarterback — and if you didn't play football in college, and you played basketball, they would follow you and they would draft you," Riley said. "They drafted me in Dallas... and I went down there with my brother to talk to the triumvirate of the Dallas Cowboys."

"My brother asked them, 'Well, how do you see Pat?' And they said, 'We see him as a cornerback, like Cornell Green,'" Riley revealed. "And he said, 'He was a quarterback in high school.' I was a good quarterback in high school. And they said, 'Well, we don't really need that position filled.'"

The 6-foot-7 shooting guard was selected with the No. 7 overall pick by the then-San Diego Rockets (now in Houston). He was left unprotected by San Diego in a 1970 expansion draft, where he was promptly brought on by the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland flipped Riley to the Lakers before he could ever play a game with the Trail Blazers. He was a key bench contributor for L.A.'s 1972 title team, led by Hall of Fame guard Jerry West and Hall of Fame center Wilt Chamberlain. Riley was traded to the Phoenix Suns in the 1975-76 season, after which he retired.

Riley cemented his legend with the next phase of his career. He was hired first as an assistant coach under Jack McKinney and later Paul Westhead during the team's 1979-80 season. The club promptly won a championship that year, Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson's rookie season. Conflicts between Johnson and Westhead led to the latter's firing early into the 1981-82 season, at which point Riley was promoted. Riley maintained the team's quick-paced offense it had established under McKinney and Westhood, but tried to expedite the pace of the club's defense, too.

In parts of nine seasons guiding Los Angeles, Riley guided the club — led by Johnson and fellow Hall of Fame superstars Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy — to four more titles. Across 1,904 career regular games coaching L.A., New York and Miami, Riley led his clubs to nine NBA Finals appearances and five championships, plus a 1,210-694 overall regular season record and a 171-111 playoff record. Riley has also served as the Heat's team president since first joining the club in 1995-96. He coached the Heat to one title, but as its front office mastermind he helped bring Miami to six more NBA Finals, winning another pair, even after he stepped away from coaching and allowed himself to be replaced by Erik Spoelstra.

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