Juan Ramón Rivas Contreras (born March 16, 1966
basketball-reference.com) is a Puerto Rican retired 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 (appro ...

player, and sports color commentator. Rivas was the third player from Puerto Rico to play in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(after

Butch Lee Alfred "Butch" Lee Jr. (born December 5, 1956) is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. Lee was the first Puerto Rican and first Latin American-born athlete to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), accomplishing thi ...

and José Ortiz), and half of the first duo of Puerto Ricans to be active in the

simultaneously (with Ortiz). Rivas has played in the NBA,

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

, and in the Puerto Rican National Superior League (BSN), with the Carolina Giants. Rivas also played internationally, in Spain, Greece, and Italy. Rivas was also a member of the senior Puerto Rican National Basketball Team for several years. He represented Puerto Rico at the following tournaments: the

1986 FIBA World Championship The 1986 FIBA World Championship was the 10th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Spain and was held from 5 to 20 July 1986. The final phase of the tournament was hel ...

, in Málaga, Spain; the

1988 Summer Olympic Games The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, in Seoul, South Korea; the

1990 FIBA World Championship The 1990 FIBA World Championship was the 11th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. It was hosted by Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990. The final phase of the competition was held at t ...

, in Buenos Aires, Argentina; the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, in Barcelona, Spain; and the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, in Atlanta, United States.

Biography

Early years

As a youngster, Rivas played at The San Juan Y.M.C.A, for Millin Romero. He progressed through Carolina's minor basketball tournaments, becoming one of the best centers in Puerto Rico, while he played for Levittown's Pedro Albizu Campos

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

's team. Flor Melendez took note of his progress, and signed him to play for the Carolina Giants, of Puerto Rico's top-tier level league, the BSN. That year he was selected BSN Rookie of the Year. The changes on the Carolina Giants were evident, when Rivas joined the team: From being one of the worst teams in the league, during the 1983 tournament, they got better every year. In 1987, the team almost reached the BSN playoffs, and, in 1988, the team finally reached the BSN playoffs, for the first time, having the best record in the regular season (1989 Regular Season: PPG.24.4, Reb.17.4 in 30 games).

College career

Rivas attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

, where he played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

with the

Temple Owls The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson. The owl has been the symbol and masco ...

, from 1984 to 1988, going on four occasions to the NCAA post season tournament. He was coached by

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

John Chaney. Temple was ranked 1st in the nation in his senior year, with a record of 34 wins and 2 losses. Playing with the Owls helped him gain experience, and improve his game in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

. He became well known in the United States, as a center who could score points, and rebound in double figures, and was a respected player among his peers.

Professional career

Signed by the NBA

Thanks to his notable

career, the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

announced that they would sign Rivas for a full season, towards the end of the

, in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Having coincided with José Ortiz's signing by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

two weeks prior, Rivas' signing by the Celtics was a cause of great celebration for Puerto Ricans, many of whom felt their efforts in basketball were finally being recognized by the

. With the Celtics, Rivas had the opportunity to share playing time alongside

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

, Kevin McHale,

Dennis Johnson Dennis Wayne Johnson (September 18, 1954 – February 22, 2007), nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He was a c ...

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

Reggie Lewis Reginald C. Lewis (November 21, 1965 – July 27, 1993) was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993. At the age of 27, Lewis died while still a member of the Celtics, ...

, and Brian Shaw, among others. The Celtics reached the playoffs, by beating the

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

by two games, for the eighth and final playoff spot in the NBA east that year, but were swept in three games, by the eventual champion

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, in the playoffs' first round. Because of his height, Rivas had to change playing positions when he arrived to the Celtics, going from playing center in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, to

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

in Boston. After that season with the Celtics, he came back to Puerto Rico, and received his first Puerto Rican League MVP honor, while playing for the Carolina Giants. That summer, he was signed by a basketball club in Spain, called Taugrés, which became his home for the next 7 years.

Europe

Rivas played for Taugrés in the Spanish League from 1989 until 1996, winning the Spanish King's Cup in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. He arrived with the Vitorian team to the FIBA European Cup (later called FIBA Saporta Cup) Finals in three consecutive years (

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) finally winning it in the 1995–96 season, against

Peja Stojaković Predrag Stojaković ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Стојаковић, ; born 9 June 1977), known by his nickname Peja (''Peđa'', Пеђа, ), is a Serbian professional basketball executive and former player who was most recently the assistant gener ...

's team

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

, and becoming the Finals MVP, with 32 points and 15 rebounds. In the 1996–97 season, he won the Spanish league with

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

and also finished runner-up of the

1996–97 FIBA EuroLeague The 1996–97 FIBA EuroLeague was the 40th installment of the European top-tier level professional club competition for basketball clubs (now called simply EuroLeague). It was organized by FIBA Europe. It began on September 19, 1996, and ended o ...

, losing to

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

from

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

. The following season went to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

to play for AEK of

Giannis Ioannidis Giannis Ioannidis (alternate spellings: Ioannis, Yiannis, Yannis) (Greek: Γιάννης Ιωαννίδης; 26 February 1945 – 4 October 2023) was a Greek basketball player, professional basketball coach, and Greece New Democracy (ND) politic ...

, one of the biggest clubs in Greece, and played in another

EuroLeague Final The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is the highest level tier, and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe. Real Madrid have won the European championship o ...

( 1997–98 FIBA EuroLeague) against

Ettore Messina Ettore Messina (born 30 September 1959) is an Italian professional basketball coach who is the head coach of Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He has won four EuroLeague championships as a head coach. Messina is regarded a ...

's Kinder Bologna. In 1998, he went back to Spain, for his final year with the club Cáceres. In 1999, he played in Italy for the club

Fabriano Fabriano is a town and ''comune'' of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, at above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley upstream and southwest of Jesi; and east-northeast of Fossato di Vico and east of Gubbio (both in U ...

National team career

Rivas represented Puerto Rico, as a member of the senior Puerto Rican national basketball team, at the

, in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, held at

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain, and the

1996 Summer Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, held in Atlanta. He also won the gold medal at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...

, and he also played at the

, and the

Sports commentator

Rivas worked for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

for 9 years, as a sports broadcasting color analyst, and for 5 years, for Fox Sports in Spanish. He worked as a TV sports color analyst at the Summer Olympic Games of Beijing 2008, and the Summer Olympic Games of London 2012, next to Edgar Lopez, for NBC Telemundo.

References

External links

acb.combaskonia.compuertorico-herald.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivas, Ramon 1966 births Living people 1986 FIBA World Championship players AEK B.C. players Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Boston Celtics players Centers (basketball) Liga ACB players NBA broadcasters Olympic basketball players for Puerto Rico Sportspeople from Carolina, Puerto Rico Power forwards Puerto Rican men's basketball players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Puerto Rico men's national basketball team players Puerto Rican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Saski Baskonia players Spanish men's basketball players Temple Owls men's basketball players Undrafted NBA players Gigantes de Carolina (men's basketball) players 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Spanish sportsmen