Rivers grew up in Jersey City, and played high school basketball under Bob Hurley, at powerhouse St. Anthony High School. He contributed to the team winning three State Championships and became the school's first player to be invited to the McDonald's All-American Game (1984).
On August 24, 1986, before the start of the season, he was a passenger in a van being driven by former college teammate Ken Barlow, returning to an apartment they shared after working a summer job with a caterer business, when the vehicle overturned and went into a ditch, after trying to avoid an oncoming car. Barlow had minor cuts, but Rivers suffered a life-threatening 15-inch abdominal cut, that he was able to recover from to play in 32 college games that season.[4][5]
He was named the team's MVP for four consecutive seasons and was a team co-captain for three straight seasons. He received third-team All-American in 1986–87, and second-team honors in '87–88
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 (1.7 steals per game), second in games started (116), fourth in assists average (5.0 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 NCAA Championship All-Regional team. He earned four monograms while a member of the Fighting Irish.
Professional playing career
National Basketball Association
Rivers was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round (25th overall) of the 1988 NBA draft, after the player they were targeting (Brian Shaw), was selected one choice before.[6] As a rookie he played in 47 regular season games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 assists per game, and 6 playoff games, averaging 2.5 points and 1 assist per game. The team eventually lost in the NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons.
Rivers was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 NBA expansion draft.[7] He was released before the start of the regular season on November 2. On November 14, 1989, he signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers. He played in 53 games (11 of them as a starter), averaging 4.2 points and 3 assists per contest. He wasn't re-signed after the season.
On July 12, 1991, he was traded to the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association, playing under coach Flip Saunders.[10] On November 23, he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, playing in 15 games before being released.[11] On January 7, 1992, he was released by the Los Angeles Clippers.[12] He returned to La Crosse and later was called up by Los Angeles Clippers, where he played 15 games of the 1991–1992 season. On December 17, he re-signed with La Crosse, where he won the league title.[13] He averaged 27.1 points and 9.6 assists during the finals and received MVP honors.[14]
Europe
In 1993, he signed with Olympique Antibes of the LNB Pro A French League, where he played 2 seasons, winning the Championship in 1995.
In 1995, he signed with Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League, winning the title in 1996. In 1996–1997, he contributed to the team winning the Greek Basketball Cup, the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague (the second time a Greek club won the trophy[15]), where he faced FC Barcelona Bàsquet and was named EuroLeague Final Four MVP, averaging 27 points per game in the two Final Four games in Rome. During that 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. At that stage of his career, he was considered one of the best basketball players in Europe [citation needed]. He is remembered as a legend by Olympiacos fans and he is widely considered one of the greatest players in Olympiacos history.[16][17] He was also named the European Player of the Year in 1997, making him the first American ever to receive European Basketball's highest honor.
In 1998, he signed with Tofaş of the Turkish League, where he won two Turkish League championships and two Turkish Cups, before re-joining Olympiacos for one season.[18]
Although he didn't play for 2 years, he then signed with Olympique Antibes for the 2003–04 season in the second division of the LNB Pro A French League. In 2013, he was inducted into the Olympique Antibes Basketball Club Hall of Fame and had his jersey number retired.
Personal life
In 2009, he was hired as a coach by Virtus Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A, to assist in the development of junior players that season. On April 22, 2014, he was hired as an associate head coach for the Kennesaw State Owls.[19] He is a director at Village Camps Basketball Camps in Switzerland.
On Monday, April 15, 2024, YouTuber, WHAT THE HALE$, posted a $1,000 abandoned storage unit video where he was invited by two fans, now known as TDK COLLECTS, to explore a 20 year old storage unit formerly owned by Rivers[20]
