Pat Riley built one of the greatest legacies the NBA has ever seen. The 81-year-old won a championship as a player, captured five more as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, added another as a Lakers assistant, and claimed two titles as the Miami Heat’s top executive. His relentless standards became the stuff of legend, and few ever dared to challenge him. But one young student worker did exactly that, and it changed his life forever.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ former equipment manager, Rudy Garciduenas, shared the truth behind his recruitment story on Byron Scott’s Fast Break. While studying at Loyola Marymount University, Garciduenas worked as a student employee when the Lakers used the newly built Gersten Pavilion for practices. His job was to prepare the gym before every session, putting him in daily contact with the team.

As a student, his responsibility was to set up the gym for the team. And get it ready for their practice so that they could come on and get right to work. “Well, one day, I guess I had forgotten to set up the shot clock, I think it was. So I’m in the back; the team is on the floor,” the ex-Lakers staffer shared.

Josh Rosenfeld, the public relations director at the time, went into the locker room to talk to the youngster. “He says, ‘Pat Riley wants you to put the shot clock out every time from now on or else,'” Garciduenas shared with Byron Scott.

“I looked at Josh. I said to Josh, ‘Well, I don’t work for you guys. I’m a volunteer here. I’m a student worker. How about you go tell Pat Riley to go f*** himself?'” Rudy Garciduenas added. “I took the keys to the gym, and I left; I came back after whatever, and they were done. I cleaned up after them and whatnot.”

Well, standing up to Pat Riley helped the college student land a job with the Los Angeles Lakers. The morning after the incident, Jerry West, Bill Bertka, and Gary Vitti were waiting for Garciduenas. On seeing all of them standing that way, the then-youngster wondered what he had done. “Jerry literally walks up to me, shakes my hand, and all he says is, ‘We want to hire you.’ And I’m like, ‘Okay?'” Garciduenas shared.

It is safe to say Rudy Garciduenas was stunned because Jerry West rarely interacted with him, making the unexpected job offer hard to believe. Unsure if it was genuine, he questioned its authenticity until Gary Vitti and Bill Bertka’s enthusiastic reactions convinced him the offer was completely real.

“At that time, with the franchise and Pat was the coach, Pat and Jerry bumped heads quite often. They didn’t always agree,” the former Lakers employee added. “So it was kind of a thorn, a little bit, for Jerry to be able to hire somebody who wasn’t afraid to speak up to Pat.”

Jerry West and Pat Riley shared a demanding working relationship rather than a personal feud. After Riley became the Lakers’ interim coach in 1981, West watched him make several rookie mistakes, including trying to substitute players who had already been cut or were already on the court. Even so, West stayed patient. Over time, their shared obsession with winning helped shape one of the greatest dynasties in sports.

Well, Pat Riley wasn’t the easiest person to be around. In fact, the Los Angeles Lakers legend James Worthy said that his discipline was “vicious.” Yet, the one who stood up against Riley became the equipment manager for 26 years.