| Real Name: | Christine C. Rodstrom |
| Birthday: | 1951 |
| Net Worth: | N/A |
| Height: | N/A |
| Occupation: | American Marriage Counselor, Licensed Therapist, Personal Assistant, Wife of Pat Riley |
It is a rarity in the world of sports to find celebrity wives that have stayed by their husbands for more than 10 or 20 years. Well, Chris Rodstrom has been alongside Pat Riley for more than 50 years. Considering that the current team president of the Miami Heat is 77 years, that is more than half of his life.
Chris and Pat have an inspiring love story. Today, we will talk more about their story, how they met, and how the American professional basketball executive got married to his lovely and beautiful wife.
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Who is her husband?
Born Patrick James Riley in March 1945, Pat Riley has had several roles in the US. He began his professional career as a basketball player, before moving to a coaching position, and eventually an executive position. As of May 2023, he serves as the team president of the Miami Heat, an NBA team he has been associated with since the 1990s.
Riley began his role in the Miami Heat in 1995 as a head coach, then moved to an executive position, back to coach from 2005 to 2008, and then again to the office. Riley is considered one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, winning five NBA championships as a coach. Four of them came with the Los Angeles Lakers during the Showtime era with Magic Johnson, and one with the Heat in 2006.
Born in Rome, New York, and raised in Schenectady, New York, his father Leon Riley played 22 seasons of minor league baseball as an outfielder and first baseman. He played basketball for Linton High School before beginning his college career with the Kentucky Wildcats. He spent four years there.
His professional career began when he was selected the 7th overall pick of the 1967 NBA draft by the San Diego Rockets. He played three seasons for the Rockets, before getting selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1970 NBA expansion draft. They traded him to the Lakers, where he spent five years.
As a player, Riley was a contributor to the 1972 NBA Championship team. In 1976, he retired and returned in 1977 as a broadcaster for the Lakers. He joined the team as an assistant in November 1979, after the acting head coach Jack McKinney was injured. Assistant coach Paul Westhead took over and hired Riley as an assistant. They led the team to the 1980 NBA Championship.
Two years later, Riley took over, and ushered in the Lakers Showtime era, alongside superstars like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He became a celebrity, a fashion icon with Armani suits and slicked-back hair.
He coached the Lakers until the late 1980s, when he stepped down, took a job as a commentator, and returned as head coach of the New York Knicks. There, he adapted his Showtime style to the physical and deliberate Knicks. In 1995, he resigned from the Knicks to become the team president and head coach of the Miami Heart.
In Florida, Riley again built a championship team in the 2000s and 2010s. He was the primary reason for getting Lebron James to join Dwayne Wade and win championships in Miami.
Riley has won one NBA championship ring as a player, 5 as a head coach, 1 as an assistant coach, and two as an executive. He is considered among the top 10 greatest coaches in NBA history. In 2011, he was named National Basketball Association executive of the year.
He has won NBA Coach of the Year three times, in 1990, 1993, and 1997 as head coach of the Lakers, Knicks, and Heat.
Quick Bio
Now let’s talk about Riley’s beautiful wife, Chris Rodstrom. She was born in 1951 in San Diego, California. Her nationality is American while her ethnicity is Caucasian.
Chris grew up in a large family of seven. Her father is the late Frank Rodstrom, a Navy submariner, while her mother Dorothy Rodstrom worked as a nurse and helped alcoholics. She has four brothers, Rom, Bill, John, and Richard Rodstrom.
Chris grew up in San Diego where she got her high school diploma, college degree, and eventually got a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology. But there is not much more information on her early life.
After getting married to Pat Riley, more on that later, she moved to Los Angeles where she made her living as a licensed therapist and marriage counselor.
She would then move to different cities depending on where her husband worked at the time. In the 1980s, she quit her job and career to play Pat’s personal assistant. When working together with Pat, she had her perch located across the Forum from the Lakers bench so she could take in the action on the floor and keep her eyes on Riley.
Marriage to Pat
Chris was a Maryland-born lady and the daughter of a Navy captain and a nurse. She completed her BA studies in 1972, and three years later she got her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology at Cal State Northridge.
At the time she met Pat Riley, she attended the University of San Diego. At the time, Pat played for the San Diego Rockets. That was during the 1967-68 season.
They kept in touch after the initial encounter and soon began their romantic affair. After dating for several years, they tied the knot in 1970.
That means they have been together for more than 50 years. In 2020, they celebrated their Golden Anniversary, but without many Instagram and social media posts.
They have several passions together, one is basketball, and the other is Bruce Springsteen. They love the famous musician and singer.
They are often photographed at social events together. Pat and Chris have two beautiful children together, James Riley and Elizabeth Riley. Their children are quite private about their personal life and prefer to stay away from the media spotlight.
Is she on social media?
Here is a fun fact. Neither Chris nor Pat have social media profiles. You can say they are from the old school of people. Having been together for more than 50 years, they prefer to keep things private and away from social media.
Yes, you can find several fan pages of Pat Riley on Instagram and Twitter. But those are not his real pages. Fans love Pat as one of the iconic coaches and executives in the NBA. His Armani suits and signature hairstyle will definitely stick for a while.
Net Worth
As we said before, Chris Rodstrom worked as a marriage counselor and licensed therapist. But sometime during her marriage to famous basketball executive and NBA champion Pat Riley, she gave up on her career and decided to support him.
With that in mind, there is no info about her net worth. But we do know the net worth of her famous husband. Pat is one of the richest executives in the world of sports. With a net worth of a whopping $120 million, Pat is set for life. And a lot of that is thanks to the support and encouragement of his wife.
