* Honorable Mention All-ACC (2009) Kelvin Creswell Rivers (born March 1, 1987) is a former American 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 who last played for

Fuerza Regia The Fuerza Regia de Monterrey (''Monterrey Royal Force'' in English) is a Mexican professional basketball team based in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). They currently play their home g ...

of the LNBP. Standing at , 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 basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions.

High school career

Rivers attended high school at Oak Hill Academy, in Mouth of Wilson,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, where he played high school basketball. While there, he helped his team capture two

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

national high school basketball championships. In those two years, his team's record was a combined 72–2. He holds Oak Hill's record for the most three-point field goals made in a game, with 15.

College career

Rivers 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 ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, with the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

, seeing action in 102 games, while starting 55 of those games. Rivers averaged 14.2 points, and grabbed 6 rebounds a game, in his four years at Clemson.

Professional career

After failing to be drafted in the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

, Rivers signed with AB Latina of the Italian

LegaDue Basket Serie A2, known for sponsorship reasons as Serie A2 Old Wild West, is a men's basketball league in Italy. It constitutes the second-tier of the Italian league pyramid, below the first division LBA and above the third division Serie B, with ...

, the Italian second-tier league, in August 2009. In 10 games with Latina, he averaged 24.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and in December 2009, he signed with Benetton Treviso of the Italian top-tier league, the LBA, for the remainder of the season. On June 30, 2010, he signed a contract with

Chorale Roanne Chorale Roanne Basket is a professional basketball club that is based in Roanne, France. The club plays in the first division LNB Pro A. Their home arena is Halle André Vacheresse. The club was founded in 1937 and the team's colors are blue and w ...

of the French

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

for the 2010–11 season. In January 2011, he returned to Italy and signed with

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

, for the rest of the season. On July 29, 2011, he signed a one-year deal with

Lokomotiv Kuban PBC Lokomotiv Kuban () is a Russian professional basketball team based in Krasnodar. It participates in the VTB United League. Their honour list includes a EuroCup Basketball, EuroCup championship in the 2012–13 season, and two Russian Basketb ...

of Russia. On May 30, 2012, he signed a two-year deal with another Russian team, Khimki Moscow Region. In July 2013, he parted ways with Khimki. In November 2013, he was acquired by the

Reno Bighorns Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River v ...

of the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. In 47 games played in the D-league, he averaged 15.8 points and 4 rebounds per game, during the 2013–14 season. On August 7, 2014, he signed a one-year deal with the Spanish club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

. In the 2014–15 season, Real Madrid continued its successes in the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

from the previous seasons, advancing to the

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, fo ...

for the third straight time. In the semifinal game against Fenerbahçe Ülker, Rivers helped his team to secure its third straight

EuroLeague Finals The EuroLeague Finals are the championship finals of the EuroLeague competition. The EuroLeague is European professional club basketball pyramid, the highest level tier, and most important professional sports, professional sports club, club bask ...

appearance, by scoring 17 points, on 5 of 6 shooting from the three-point line, in a 96–87 win. Real Madrid eventually won the EuroLeague championship, after defeating

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, ...

in the EuroLeague Final, by a score of 78–59. Over the season, Rivers averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game, to help his team win its ninth EuroLeague title overall, and its first in 20 years. Real Madrid eventually finished the season by also winning the Spanish League championship, after a 3–0 series sweep in the Spanish League Finals series against

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 ...

. With the Spanish League title, they won the triple crown. On September 8, 2015, Rivers signed a one-year contract with the German club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. On December 22, 2015, he left Bayern, and returned to his former club,

, for the rest of the season. On July 24, 2016, Rivers signed a 1+1 deal with the Greek club

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

. On December 7, 2018, Rivers signed a deal with the Italian club

Pallacanestro Reggiana Pallacanestro Reggiana, also simply known as Reggiana or Reggio Emilia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Unahotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional basketball team based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. It plays in the LBA as ...

. He parted ways with Reggiana in February 2019. On February 11, 2019, Rivers signed for Serbian club

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

for the rest of the 2018–19 season. On August 20, 2019, Rivers signed a one-year deal with

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

club Coosur Real Betis. On November 22, 2019, Rivers signed with Lithuanian club Žalgiris Kaunas for the remainder of the 2019–2020 season. On July 6, 2020, Rivers signed with

BC Zenit Saint Petersburg BC Zenit Saint Petersburg (), formerly known as BC Dynamo Moscow Region (2003–2007) and BC Triumph Lyubertsy (2007–2014), is a Russian professional basketball team that is located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, since 2014. The club competes do ...

for the 2020–2021 season. On July 9, 2021, Rivers officially parted ways with the Russian club. On December 10, he returned to Bayern Munich. Rivers parted ways with the team on January 25, 2022. On February 22, 2022, Rivers signed with

Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club (), known for sponsorship reasons as Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (הפועל בנק יהב ירושלים), is a professional basketball club based in the City of Jerusalem, and competes in the Israeli Basketbal ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. On August 3, 2022, Rivers signed with

BC Samara BC Samara () is a Russian professional basketball team based in Samara. History BC Samara (1976–2002) Club was founded in Tolyatti as BC Azot. Club was a silver medalist of the Russian Basketball Super League 1, Russian Super League 1 in 19 ...

of the

VTB United League The VTB United League () is an international professional men's club basketball league that was founded in 2009. It is made up of mostly Russian clubs, along with one each from Belarus and Kazakhstan. Since 2013, it is the first tier of Russian ...

. On October 21, 2023, Rivers signed with BC Fuerza Regia of the LNBP League.

Career statistics

EuroLeague

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Khimki Khimki (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located approximately northwest from central Moscow, and is part of the Moscow metropolitan area. History Origins and formation Khimki was initially a railway station that had existed sin ...

, 24 , , 17 , , 26.3 , , .445 , , .364 , , .533 , , 2.7 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 9.6 , , 7.5 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#AFE6BA;", 2014–15† , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="background:#CFECEC;", 30* , , 16 , , 17.0 , , .432 , , .411 , , 1.000 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , , , 5.3 , , 5.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 2 , , 23.5 , , .442 , , .431 , , .667 , , 2.3 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .1 , , 10.8 , , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 4 , , 17.5 , , .437 , , .315 , , .778 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 6.7 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2",

, 33 , , 5 , , 27.4 , , .449 , , .420 , , .780 , , 2.5 , , .8 , , .8 , , .1 , , 11.2 , , 7.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , 31 , , 4 , , 23.4 , , .409 , , .358 , , .656 , , 2.7 , , .8 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 8.5 , , 6.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Žalgiris , 18 , , 8 , , 21.4 , , .444 , , .412 , , .900 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , , , 9.3 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020-21 , style="text-align:left;",

Zenit Zenit, meaning "zenith", may refer to: Spaceflight and rocketry * Zenit (rocket family), a Soviet family of space launch vehicles * Zenit (satellite), a type of Soviet spy satellite * Zenit sounding rocket, a Swiss rocket Sports * Zenit (sports ...

, 37 , , 13 , , 22.3 , , .400 , , .355 , , .455 , , 2.5 , , .7 , , .5 , , .1 , , 6.1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 1 , , 16.2 , , .395 , , .313 , , .667 , , 1.3 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , , , 6.2 , , 3.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan=2, Career , 206 , , 70 , , 22.4 , , .431 , , .382 , , .696 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , .1 , , 8.1 , , 6.2

Domestic leagues

Personal life

Rivers is the nephew of former

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 ...

player

Byron Dinkins Byron Stewart Dinkins (born June 15, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player, who played two seasons in the NBA, from 1989 to 1991. He played college basketball for UNC Charlotte. After his stint in the NBA, Dinkins pursued a p ...

. Rivers is divorced, and has 2 children, Maiyah and Micah.

References

External links