David Rivers

Background

Rivers grew up in Jersey City, and played high school basketball under Bob Hurley, at powerhouse Saint Anthony High School.

Education

A third team All-American in 1986-1987, and a second team selection in "87–88, Rivers attended the University of Notre Dame.

Career

A point guard, he reached star status in the Euroleague, mostly playing for Olympiacos under coach Dušan Ivković. Rivers played 3 seasons in the National Basketball Association, one with the Los Angeles Lakers (1988-1989) and two more with the Los Angeles Clippers (1989-1990, 1991-1992). He was the co-captain of the "87–88 squad.

He currently ranks fourth in school history, in scoring with 2,058 points, and second in Notre Dame history in assists (586).

He also ranks second all-time in steals (201), and steals average (17 steals per game), second in games started (116), fourth in assists average (50 assists per game) and three-point field goal percentage (406), ninth in games played (118), 11th all-time in three-point field goals made (67), and 13th in three-point field goals attempted (165). He was selected to the 1987 National Collegiate Athletic Association Championship All-Regional team

National Basketball Association Rivers was selected 25th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 1988 National Basketball Association Draft and as a rookie he played in 47 games in the regular season, averaging 2,9 points and 2,3 assists per game, and 6 more in the playoffs averaging 2,5 points and 1 assist per game. Rivers was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 Expansion Draft, but was waived before playing a game.

He had two more seasons with the other Los Angeles team, the Clippers (1989-1990 and 1991-1992).

In 1989-1990 he played in 53 games (11 of them as a starter), averaging 4,2 points and 3 assists per game. He appeared in 15 more games in the 1991-1992 season for the Clippers. Europe He played successfully in Europe (in France, Greece, Italy, and Turkey).

In Greece, he played for European powerhouse Olympiacos, winning the Euroleague in 1997.

During that 1996-1997 season, Rivers averaged 17.2 points, 3.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 37.9 minutes per game, in 23 games played in the Euroleague. Most importantly, he was named Euroleague Final Four Most Valuable Player after being instrumental in Olympiacos triumph, averaging 27 points per game in the two Final Four games in Rome.

He is remembered as a legend by Olympiacos fans and he is widely considered as one of the greatest players in Olympiacos history. In the 1997 off-season, Rivers left Olympiacos to join Italian League club Teamsystem Bologna, and played alongside former National Basketball Association all-star Dominique Wilkins.

Achievements

• College of Business Administration: 1 (with Louisiana Crosse Catbirds: 1992-1993) French League: 1 (with Olympique Antibes: 1994-1995) Greek League: 2 (with Olympiacos: 1995-1996, 1996-1997) Greek Cup: 1 (with Olympiacos: 1996-1997) Euroleague: 1 (with Olympiacos: 1996-1997) Italian Cup: 1 (with Fortitudo Bologna: 1997-1998) Turkish League: 2 (with Tofaş: 1998-1999, 1999-1900) Turkish Cup: 2 (with Tofaş: 1998-1999, 1999-1900).

Membership

He earned four monograms while a member of the Fighting Irish.

Connections

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David Rivers