Pat Riley, head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, has been selected by his peers as The Sporting News' NBA Coach of the Year, the St. Louis-based publication said Friday.

In close voting by NBA coaches, Riley won by two votes over Rick Adelman of Portland and Jim Lynam of Philadelphia. Larry Brown of San Antonio and Chuck Daly of Detroit tied for third place.The Lakers - the first team in NBA history to win 60 games in four consecutive seasons - have won the Pacific Division title in each of Riley's nine seasons as coach.

Riley has compiled a 533-194 record and a winning percentage of .733, the best in NBA history. He has more playoff victories than any other coach (102) and is the 13th coach to win 500 games.

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The Lakers won 63 regular-season games this season and were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in conference semifinals.

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