“The Lost Tapes”, powered by Stoiximan, are back with EuroLeague champion David Rivers, one of the most successful American professionals that ever played in Europe💥
Hosted by Vassilis Skountis, Rivers opens up about his college career with Norte Dame and the life-threatening car accident that almost jeopardized his career, his experience with the Los Angeles Lakers and the “Showtime”, his tenure with the Clippers, his long track record of successes in Greece and Europe, where he won everywhere he played, as well as his continuous involvement with sports academies for over 20 years 💯🏆🔥
Watch the full interview here:
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).
He then accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of Notre Dame, to play under head coach Digger Phelps and was named a starter at point guard as a freshman, while as a sophomore, he contributed to the team reaching the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. On August 24, 1986, before the start of the season, while a passenger in a van being driven by former college teammate Ken Barlow, and returning to an apartment they shared after working a summer job with a caterer business, their vehicle overturned and went into a ditch. 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. He was named the team’s MVP for four consecutive seasons and was a team co-captain for three straight seasons, while 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), while he is second all-time in total steals (201) and steals per game (1.7 steals), second in games started (116), fourth in assists per game (5.0 assists) 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)!
Rivers was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round (25th overall) of the 1988 NBA draft. As a rookie he played in 47 regular season games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 assists per game, while in 6 playoff games, he averaged 2.5 points and 1.0 assist per game, with the Lakers getting swept in the NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons. He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 NBA expansion draft but was released before the start of the regular season and signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Clippers. He played in 53 games, averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 assists before stints with the San Antonio Spurs, the Tulsa Fast Breakers and the La Crosse Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association, where he won the league title.
In 1993, he signed with the Olympique Antibes of the LNB Pro A French League, where he played 2 seasons, winning the Championship in 1995, before moving on to Olympiacos B.C. of the Greek Basket League, and claiming the Greek Basket League, the Greek Basketball Cup and the EuroLeague (the second time a Greek club won the trophy), where he faced the FC Barcelona Bàsquet and was named EuroLeague Final Four MVP, averaging 27 points per game in the two Final Four games in Rome. He was also named the European Player of the Year in 1997, making him the first American ever to receive European Basketball Highest Honor. In the 1997 off-season, Rivers left Olympiacos to join Italian League club Teamsystem Bologna, playing alongside former NBA All-star Dominique Wilkins. He averaged 12.8 points and 3.3 assists per game and contributed to the team winning the Italian Basketball Cup, receiving Co-MVP Honors with teammate Carlton Myers. In 1998, he signed with the Tofaş of the Turkish League, where he won two Turkish League championships and two Turkish Cups, before re-joining Olympiacos for one season. Although he didn’t play for 2 years, he signed with the 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.
His many accolades include the following:
CBA: 1 (with La Crosse Catbirds: 1991–92)
French League: 1 (with Olympique Antibes: 1994–95)
Greek League: 2 (with Olympiacos: 1995–96, 1996–97)
Greek Cup: 1 (with Olympiacos: 1996–97)
EuroLeague: 1 (with Olympiacos: 1996–97)
Italian Cup: 1 (with Fortitudo Bologna: 1997–98)
Turkish League: 2 (with Tofaş: 1998–99, 1999–00)
Turkish Cup: 2 (with Tofaş: 1998–99, 1999–00)
Stay tuned for more episodes of “The Lost Tapes” coming soon…!
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