Derek Raivio (born November 9, 1984) is an American former professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player who last played for
Benfica of the
Portuguese Basketball League
The Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol ( en, Portuguese Basketball League), also known as Liga Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional club basketball league in Portugal.
History
From the 2008–09 season onward, the competiti ...
.
College career
Raivio played for four seasons at
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...
under coach
Mark Few
Mark Norman Few (born December 27, 1962) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Gonzaga University since 1999. He has served on Gonzaga's coaching staff since 1989, and has been a constant on the sidelines through ...
from 2003-2007. Prior to Gonzaga, Raivio played for
Mountain View High School in Vancouver. Raivio set both season and career school records, scoring 1,568 points.
At Gonzaga he was named co-
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...
Player of the Year his senior season. Raivio was named West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year as a senior, sharing the honor with
Sean Denison of
Santa Clara. He finished his collegiate career as the second all-time career
free throw
In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...
shooting percentage leader in
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Division I history (.927). He finished his career at Gonzaga as the school's 12th all-time leading scorer. He was also second all-time in steals, fourth in assists, and fourth in three-point field goals made at the end of his Gonzaga career.
Professional career
In 2007, Raivio signed with the
Basketball Bundesliga
The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...
's
TBB Trier
Gladiators Treves, for sponsorship reasons known as Römerstrom Gladiators Trier, is a professional basketball club based in Trier, Germany. The club plays in the ProA. Their home arena is Trier Arena, which has a capacity of 5,495 people. From 19 ...
. In 2010, he signed with the
Erie Bayhawks of the
NBA D-League
The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...
. He split the season between the Bayhawks and the
Fort Wayne Mad Ants
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The M ...
. He played the 2011-12 season in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
for the expansion
Shinshu Brave Warriors
The Shinshu Brave Warriors is a professional basketball team that competes in the first division of the Japanese B.League. The team was formed in 2011 and as of the 2016-17 season played in the Central Division (Naka-chiku) of the B2 League. The ...
. In 2012, Raivio signed with Okapi Aalstar of the
Ethias League
The Pro Basketball League (PBL), was the highest tier level professional basketball league in Belgium for clubs. In 2021, the league was succeeded by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT League.
Through 2014, for sponsorship reasons, the league was previously ...
of Belgium. Raivio had an excellent season with Okapi, as he led the league in points (18.7 per game) and
index rating (20.7 per game). He led the no. 5 seeded team to a surprising Finals berth, in which Okapi eventually lost 3–2 to
Telenet Oostende
Basketball Club Oostende, for sponsorship reasons Filou Oostende, is a Belgian professional basketball team. The club is based in Ostend and was founded in 1970. The club competes domestically in the BNXT League and internationally in the Baske ...
.
On June 25, 2014, Raivio signed a deal with
ČEZ Nymburk
Basketball Nymburk, also known as ERA Nymburk due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in the town of Nymburk. The club plays in the top-tier level professional Czech National League (NBL). Nymburk regularly pl ...
, a team based in
Nymburk
Nymburk (; german: Nimburg, Neuenburg an der Elbe) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the Elbe River. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and plays in the
Eurocup.
On July 11, 2015, he signed with the French club
SLUC Nancy Basket
Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket, commonly referred to as SLUC Nancy Basket, is a French professional basketball club based in Nancy. The club currently competes in the LNB Pro A, the top league in France, and holds two league titles. S ...
.
On August 16, 2016, Raivio signed with Portuguese club
Benfica.
References
External links
ESPN ProfileClub historyeurocupbasketball profileBenfica official profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raivio, Derek
1984 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Belgium
American expatriate basketball people in France
American expatriate basketball people in Germany
American expatriate basketball people in Japan
American expatriate basketball people in Portugal
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Washington (state)
BBC Aalstar players
Basketball Nymburk players
Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) players
Fort Wayne Mad Ants players
Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball players
Köln 99ers players
Okapi Aalstar players
Point guards
Shinshu Brave Warriors players
Shooting guards
S.L. Benfica basketball players
SLUC Nancy Basket players
Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington