Star Trek: Top 10 Riker Moments

With the threat of the Borg now prescient, Starfleet decides to engage its officers in war games. Riker is given command of the USS Hathaway, a Constellation-class starship that, at first, seems to be hopelessly outmatched by the Enterprise-D. 

For a man who turns down command as often as Riker does, he really is rather good in the hot seat. He encourages his crew to improvise, leading to Worf's suggestion of using the Enterprise's sensors against them and, crucially, Wesley's 'acquisition' of some anti-matter.

This proves to be life-saving when the Ferengi arrive, threatening to destroy the Enterprise if they don't surrender the Hathaway. Riker manages to pilot the ship to safety a millisecond before several torpedoes detonate, seemingly destroying the ship, before then projecting another Federation ship to the Ferengi - convincing them to back off.

This earns him the respect of the Zakdorn Kolrami who, despite being an arrogant git, is a master strategist - admitting he vastly underestimated the bearded man.