American basketball player

Richard P. Rinaldi (born August 3, 1949) is an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Baltimore Bullets.

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Rinaldi attended F.D. Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, New York and was a guard at St. Peter's College, where he played from 1967–71. As a senior at St. Peter's in 1970–71, Rinaldi averaged 28.6 points per game, which was the nation's sixth-highest scoring average that season.

Rinaldi was selected 43rd overall by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA Draft and signed a contract which earned him $33,000 as a rookie. He played in the NBA with the Bullets from 1971–1974. After being cut by the Bullets during the 1973–1974 season, Rinaldi signed with the New York Nets of the American Basketball *ociation in November 1973. Rinaldi's most successful NBA season came in 1972–73, when he averaged 8.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in 33 games for the Bullets. He ended his professional career in Europe, playing in Italy and Switzerland from 1976–1982.

As of 2017, Rinaldi worked for the National Basketball Players *ociation, counseling players on the transition to post-basketball careers. He was also an *yst on Marist College Red Fox basketball broadcasts in early 90s on WTZA-62 Kingston NY.

References