Antonello Riva facts for kids
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| Born | February 28, 1962 Rovagnate, Italy |
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| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 220 lb (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pro career | 1977–2004, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1989 | Cantù | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1994 | Olimpia Milano | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | V.L. Pesaro | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Nuova Pallacanestro Gorizia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | Cantù | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | NSB Rieti | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Leopandrillo Cantù | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Antonello Riva, born on February 28, 1962, is a famous Italian former professional basketball player. He was known for playing as a shooting guard and small forward, which are positions where players score a lot of points. He was often called "Nembo Kid," which is like the Italian name for Superman, because of his amazing skills on the court.
Antonello Riva is considered one of the greatest basketball players. In 1991, he was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players. He also holds the record for being the top scorer of all time in Italy's top two basketball leagues. Plus, he scored the most points ever for the senior men's Italian national team. In 2007, he was chosen for the FIBA All-Time EuroStars Team, and in 2008, he was recognized as one of the 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors.
Contents
Antonello Riva's Professional Basketball Journey
Antonello Riva began his professional basketball career in the 1977–78 season. He spent most of his playing time with a team called Cantù. He played for Cantù from 1977 to 1989 and again from 1998 to 2002.
Winning Championships with Cantù
With Cantù, Riva achieved great success. He helped his team win the FIBA European Champions Cup (which is now known as the EuroLeague) two times. These big wins happened in the 1981–82 and 1982–83 seasons. He also won an Italian League championship with Cantù in 1981.
Other Teams and Achievements
Riva also played for other important teams during his career. From 1989 to 1994, he played for Olimpia Milano. With this team, he won the FIBA Korać Cup in the 1992–93 season. He also played for Victoria Libertas Pesaro from 1994 to 1996.
Later in his career, he played for Dinamica Gorizia (from 1996 to 1998) and Sebastiani Rieti (in 2004). Both of these teams were in the Italian 2nd Division.
Riva's Scoring Records
Antonello Riva was an incredible scorer. By the end of his club career, he had scored a total of 14,397 points in 797 games in Italian league competitions. This makes him the all-time leading scorer in Italy. On average, he scored 18.1 points per game.
He also scored a lot of points in EuroLeague games. He had a total of 2,066 points in 97 EuroLeague matches, averaging 21.3 points per game.
Playing for Italy: The National Team
Antonello Riva was a very important member of the senior Italian national team. He holds the record for being the all-time leading scorer for the Italian national team. He scored 3,785 points in 213 games, averaging 17.8 points per game.
Major Tournaments with Italy
Riva represented Italy in many big international basketball tournaments. These included:
- The 1983 EuroBasket
- The 1984 Summer Olympics
- The 1986 FIBA World Championship
- The 1987 EuroBasket
- The 1989 EuroBasket
- The 1990 FIBA World Championship
- The 1991 EuroBasket
He won a gold medal at the 1983 EuroBasket and a silver medal at the 1991 EuroBasket.
Life After Playing: What's Next?
After his long and successful playing career, Antonello Riva continued to be involved in basketball. In 2002, he started a new basketball team. In 2004, he received a special award for being the best scorer of all time in Italy's top two basketball leagues, with his amazing total of 14,397 points.
See also
In Spanish: Antonello Riva para niños
