Riva’s story: Bouncing back from a basketball injury

No phone an hour before a game and hair pulled back. 

These were two things drilled into Riva Pitman from an early age to get her dialled in and ready to take the basketball court. 

The 23-year-old has played basketball all through school and represented Waikato right through the age-groups, as well as open women’s when she became eligible. She has played in countless finals, made tournament teams and attended multiple academies, invitational camps and New Zealand trials. 

She was even on her way to a top basketball school in America when she had to put her sporting ambitions on hold due to illness. 

She overcame that setback and returned to the court when she moved to Christchurch for university. 

This led to a move to Australia, where Riva was playing in a semi-professional state league in Queensland, deciding whether she wanted to continue pursuing basketball professionally.
 
But those thoughts all came to a crashing halt in the last quarter of the first game of the season, when Riva ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee.

“I barely knew anyone who’d done this injury,” Riva says. 

“I never thought it would happen to me, it wasn’t something that was spoken about at school – an injury to this extent.

“At the time, it was very disappointing. I had just got over my sickness and this was another setback.

“I didn’t know what to do and whether to take it as a sign to stop playing.”

Overcoming the mental challenge 

Riva returned home to New Zealand the following day and the decision became clear – she still wanted to play. 

Within a month, she’d met with the surgeon, had the surgery, and had begun her journey to return to court.

“I was grateful ACC covered the surgery and some of my rehabilitation through subsidised physiotherapy,” she says.

It’s coming up a year since Riva had her surgery and over half of that time has been spent strengthening her knee. 

For the first six months, playing sports was off the table. 

“I’ve been solely focused on rehabbing my knee and only started playing basketball again at the beginning of this year,” she says.

“I think overcoming the injury mentally was a bigger challenge for me than overcoming it physically. 

“Stepping out on the basketball court for the first time after surgery was scary. But I’m building my confidence back up and seeing the progression I’ve made from that first game to now.”

‘It’s so important to warm up’

Key to Riva’s successful recovery has been the support she’s received from family and the basketball community around her.

“You go through so many emotions recovering from an injury but I’m really blessed to have great community support with Waikato Basketball and my whānau,” she says.

“As soon as I could, Waikato Basketball invited me to join trainings again. Just being there, being around basketball, and having that social interaction was huge in wanting to continue playing.” 

Recovering from injury has really brought home to Riva how important it is to establish good return-to-play habits. 

“Stretching was always something I didn’t like doing but now I’m older I really appreciate the coaches I’ve had that have always made us stretch.

“It’s so important to warm up and be ready to take the court. It starts with your mind set – put your phone away and tie your hair back so you’re not playing with it. 

“You need to be locked in and focused on your game, then you can get into warming up every single joint and muscle you’re going to be using in the game.”  

‘Focus on your one per cent’

If there’s one thing Riva would like to pass on to young basketballers, it would be to always take at least one thing away from each training or game. 

“At one of the camps, we got told to focus on our one per cent. 

“Almost everything could be going wrong for you but there’s always one thing that’s going right. It might be your defence, and that’s the one per cent you focus on. 

“You may not like your coach or your training but you can always find something to take away with you – that’s your one per cent.” 

On Point introduced to prevent injuries

Riva is far from alone in suffering a basketball injury.

In 2024, we accepted 22,926 basketball-related injury claims, and 144 of these were for ACL injuries. The cost of supporting people to recover from injuries sustained playing basketball was over $30.8 million.

So, in partnership with ACC, Basketball New Zealand has developed On Point.

On Point is a new performance and prevention programme created specifically for the basketball community in Aotearoa, says Basketball NZ Performance and Prevention Lead Shawn Stewart.

“At the heart of this is the Game Ready Activation – a basketball-specific routine designed to build strength, mobility and movement so players can be at their best,” he says.

“It’s completed before trainings and games to ensure players are physically and mentally ready to be at their best. 

“It’s the start of a movement, On Point represents a new era where preparation, performance and wellbeing are central to how we play. 

“We’re building a basketball culture that values looking after yourself as part of the game, setting our players up for long, healthy basketball lives, on and off the court.”

Basketball NZ is one of the national sport organisations ACC partners with to deliver sport-specific programmes, keeping players active and enjoying their sport.

On Point – Are you ready for the new era of basketball?

How to ‘Have a hmmm’ on the court

Basketball is one of the fastest-growing sports in New Zealand, says ACC Injury Prevention Leader James Whitaker.

“We want to support players, coaches and referees to improve performance and reduce injury risk on the basketball court,” he says.

“Preparation to play, involving strength, movement and basketball-specific skills, will naturally provide you with the necessary mobility required to perform at your best on court.”

James encourages all players to take advantage of the injury prevention tips available on our website.

“People can visit the site, let us know what sport or recreation activity they’re interested in and receive injury prevention tips to suit their lifestyle, avoid injury and continue doing the things they love.”

Although we might do everything we can to prepare well, injuries still happen from time to time, James says.

“ACC is here to support you if you do injure yourself and we’ll do everything we can to help you recover.”

‘Have a hmmm’

Basketball injuries by the numbers

In 2024, we received 22,926 basketball-related injury claims. The cost of supporting people with these injuries was over $30 million.
  
Regions with the highest number of claims and costs to help people recover in 2024 were Auckland (9,688 / $12.1 million), Canterbury (2,924 / $4.9 million), Waikato (2,000 / $2.4 million), Wellington (1,971 / $2.9 million), Bay of Plenty (1,721 / $1.7 million) and Otago (1,122 / $1.4 million).

Basketball injuries were most common with 10 to 14-year-olds (8,247), followed by 15 to 19-year-olds (5,850) and 20 to 24-year-olds (1,994). 

Injury claims were also far more common among males (18,511) than females (4,402).