Antonello Riva (born 28 February 1962) is an Italian 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. At 1.96 m (6'5"), he played at the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronge ...

positions. During his playing career, he was nicknamed "Nembo Kid" (Italian version of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

). Riva was named one of FIBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1991. In 2004, he was given an award to mark his being the top scorer of all-time in the top two Italian club league competitions, with a total of 14,397 points scored. In 2008, he was named one of the

50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors The 50 Greatest EuroLeague Contributors (2008) of FIBA European Champions Cup and EuroLeague history were awarded and chosen on February 3, 2008, in Madrid, Spain. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary since the founding of the inaugural sea ...

Professional career

Riva started playing pro

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basketball in the 1977–78 season. He played most of his career with

Cantù Cantù (; Brianzöö: ) is a city and '' comune'' in the Province of Como, located at the center of the Brianza zone in Lombardy. It is the second largest city in Brianza. History The name could stem from that of the Canturigi, a population ...

(1977–1989, 1998–2002), with whom he won the FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague) twice, in the seasons 1981–82 and 1982–83. He also won an

Italian League The Italic League or Most Holy League was an international agreement concluded in Venice on 30 August 1454, between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Florence, and the Kingdom of Naples, following the T ...

championship in 1981. He also played with

Olimpia Milano Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano, commonly known as Olimpia Milano or as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan after its title sponsor, is an LBA Italian professional basketball team, based in Milan, Italy. Its colors are white and red, and the team is sometimes ...

(1989–1994, with whom he won the

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the FIBA European Champions' Cup (later renamed th ...

in the 1992–93 season), Victoria Libertas Pesaro (1994–1996), Dinamica Gorizia ( Italian 2nd Division, 1996–1998), and Sebastiani Rieti (Italian 2nd Division, 2004). Riva finished his club playing career with a total of 14,397 points scored in 797 games played in Italian league competitions, for a career scoring average of 18.1 points per game. He also scored a total of 2,066 points in 97 EuroLeague games, for a career scoring average of 21.3 points per game.

National team career

Riva was a member of the senior Italian national team. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the senior men's Italian national team, with 3,785 points scored, in 213 games played, for a career scoring average of 17.8 points per game. With Italy, he played at the following major FIBA tournaments: the

1983 EuroBasket The 1983 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1983, was the 23rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 26 May to 4 June 1983 in France. Italy defeated Spain in the fina ...

, the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

, the

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

, the

1987 EuroBasket The 1987 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1987, was the 25th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Greece between 3 and 14 June 1987. Twelve national teams entered the ev ...

, the 1989 EuroBasket, the

1990 FIBA World Championship The 1990 FIBA World Championship was the 11th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Argentina from 8 to 19 August 1990. The final phase of the competition was held at the Luna P ...

, and the

1991 EuroBasket The 1991 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1991, was the 27th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It was held in Italy between 24 and 29 June 1991. Eight national teams entered the even ...

. He won a gold medal at

EuroBasket 1983 The 1983 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1983, was the 23rd FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship, held by FIBA Europe. It took place from 26 May to 4 June 1983 in France. Italy defeated Spain in the final ...

, and a silver medal at EuroBasket 1991.Antonello RIVA (ITA).
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Post-playing career

Riva founded a new basketball team in 2002. He won a career trophy for being the best scorer of all-time, of the top two level Italian leagues, with 14,397 total points scored, in 2004.

References

External links

FIBA ProfileItalian League Profile

Italian League Stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riva, Antonello 1962 births Living people Basketball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics FIBA EuroBasket-winning players Italian men's basketball players Nuova AMG Sebastiani Basket Rieti players Nuova Pallacanestro Gorizia players Olimpia Milano players Olympic basketball players of Italy Pallacanestro Cantù players Sportspeople from the Province of Lecco Shooting guards Small forwards Victoria Libertas Pesaro players 1986 FIBA World Championship players 1990 FIBA World Championship players