Rik Smits (born 23 August 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch 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 who spent his entire career with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

of the

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

(NBA). The

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

was drafted by the Pacers out of

Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

with the second overall pick in the

1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...

. An

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of ...

in 1998, Smits reached the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is a ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Early life and college career

Smits was born in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Marist College Marist College is a private university in Poughkeepsie, New York. Founded in 1905, Marist was formed by the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious institute, to prepare brothers for their vocations as educators. In 2003, it became a secular in ...

for four years. In 1986, Smits led Marist to the ECAC Metro Conference tournament Championship and advanced to play in their first NCAA tournament in school history. In 1987, he led the Red Foxes to 20 wins for the first time in its Division I history and another appearance in the NCAA tournament. Smits briefly appeared in the 1988 film ''

Coming to America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis and based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the lead role. The film also co-stars Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Hea ...

'' during a scene filmed in 1987 while Marist played against St. John's at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

. Smits was drafted second overall in the

by the

, becoming the first Marist player to play in the NBA. His #45 jersey was later retired by Marist.

NBA career

He spent his entire professional career playing for the

. With the Pacers, Smits originally backed up Steve Stipanovich, but when Stipanovich suffered a career-ending injury, Smits ended up starting 71 games in his rookie year, averaging 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and earning All-Rookie First Team honors. Smits continued to average double-digit point totals in every year of his career, but it wasn't until the

1993–94 NBA season The 1993–94 NBA season was the 48th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Houston Rockets defeating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals to win the franchise's first championship. Notable occu ...

that Smits really came into his own as a team leader. Throughout the Pacers' playoff runs in the mid and late 1990s, Smits was considered the number two player, behind

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Indiana Pacers. Miller was known for his precision three-p ...

, on the deeply talented Pacers. Smits' highest point-per-game average was in 1995–96 when he averaged 18.5 points per game, relatively modest by NBA "superstar" standards, but the Dutchman endeared himself to Pacers fans with outstanding playoff performances, most notably in Game 4 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals, where he made a buzzer-beating shot to tie the series. Smits was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Team in 1998, delivering 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, including a spectacular behind-the-back pass to

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

forward

Jayson Williams Jayson Williams (born February 22, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 11 seasons, primarily with the New Jersey Nets. He played his first three seasons with the ...

who followed immediately with a slam dunk. Smits developed nerve damage in his feet from wearing tight shoes as a teenager. To help recover during the off-season, he spent time relaxing at his summer retreat in Walton, New York, where he was a regular attendee of The Afton Fair. Foot problems hobbled Smits for the majority of his career, and he retired at the conclusion of the Pacers' 1999–2000 season, after Indiana was defeated by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

in the

4 games to 2. After four surgeries to repair nerve damage to his feet, Smits underwent intensive back surgery in November 2009 to correct cracks in one joint that link his vertebrae. Smits has also undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and had bone chips removed from his left ankle. Smits was selected to the Pacers' 40th Anniversary Team, which was chosen by the fans. He ended up with the fourth most votes, trailing only

, Mel Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal.

National team career

Smits has also played for the senior Netherlands national team. he played at

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 ...

, and at

EuroBasket 1987 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 ...

Life after the NBA

After his retirement, Smits has devoted his time to collecting and racing vintage

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competiti ...

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

.http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060824/SPORTS/608240489&SearchID=7325513284189 On 30 November 2011, Smits was featured in

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. B ...

, about his formal participation in competitive

racing. In 2008 Smits won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class riding a BSA 500.http://www.ahrma.org/ahrma_pdfs/Z-2008/2008%20Champs.htm In 1998, near the end of his playing career, Smits bought a home in the Indianapolis suburb of

Zionsville, Indiana Zionsville is a suburban town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 14,160 at the 2010 census, 30,693 at the 2020 census, and grew to 33,891 in the 2022 est ...

, and continued to live in the home for nearly 20 years, expanding it in 2014 to include a regulation-size basketball half-court. Smits used two barns on the property to house his motorcycles and cars, and built a dedicated motorcycle track in the rear of the property. He and his girlfriend put the property up for sale in the summer of 2017, shortly after they moved to Arizona.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

, 82 , , 71 , , 24.9 , , .517 , , .000 , , .722 , , 6.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , 1.8 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 29.3 , , .533 , , .000 , , .811 , , 6.2 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , 2.1 , , 15.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 76 , , 38 , , 22.2 , , .485 , , , , .762 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , .3 , , 1.5 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , 55 , , 23.9 , , .510 , , .000 , , .788 , , 5.6 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , 1.4 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 25.6 , , .486 , , , , .732 , , 5.3 , , 1.5 , , .3 , , .9 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 75 , , 27.1 , , .534 , , .000 , , .793 , , 6.2 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , 1.0 , , 15.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 30.5 , , .526 , , .000 , , .753 , , 7.7 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 17.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 63 , , 63 , , 30.2 , , .521 , , .200 , , .788 , , 6.9 , , 1.7 , , .3 , , .7 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 52 , , 29.2 , , .486 , , .250 , , .797 , , 6.9 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 17.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 69 , , 28.6 , , .495 , , .000 , , .783 , , 6.9 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , 1.2 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 49 , , 49 , , 25.9 , , .490 , , .000 , , .818 , , 5.6 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 79 , , 23.4 , , .484 , , .000 , , .739 , , 5.1 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 1.3 , , 12.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 867 , , 792 , , 26.6 , , .507 , , .115 , , .773 , , 6.1 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , 1.2 , , 14.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 21.0 , , .429 , , , , 1.000 , , 7.0 , , 4.0 , , .0 , , 2.0 , , 10.0

Playoffs

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

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

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

, 3 , , 3 , , 32.0 , , .500 , , , , .818 , , 5.3 , , 1.0 , , .7 , , 1.3 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

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

, 5 , , 0 , , 17.6 , , .568 , , , , .875 , , 3.6 , , .4 , , .2 , , 1.4 , , 9.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

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

, 3 , , 1 , , 9.3 , , .364 , , , , 1.000 , , 2.0 , , .0 , , .7 , , .3 , , 3.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

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

, 4 , , 4 , , 35.8 , , .578 , , .000 , , .727 , , 8.0 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 1.0 , , 22.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

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

, 16 , , 16 , , 28.1 , , .472 , , , , .806 , , 5.3 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , .6 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

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

, 17 , , 17 , , 32.1 , , .547 , , 1.000 , , .804 , , 7.0 , , 2.0 , , .3 , , .8 , , 20.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

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

, 5 , , 5 , , 33.2 , , .545 , , , , .786 , , 7.4 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , .4 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

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

, 16 , , 16 , , 29.8 , , .502 , , .000 , , .859 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .9 , , 16.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

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

, 13 , , 13 , , 22.5 , , .456 , , , , .950 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .5 , , 1.2 , , 11.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 22 , , 21 , , 21.0 , , .498 , , .000 , , .875 , , 3.5 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .9 , , 11.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 104 , , 96 , , 26.4 , , .507 , , .250 , , .829 , , 5.2 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .9 , , 14.8

Personal life

Smits has a son named Derrik Smits, listed at and , who played for the

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

men's basketball team from 2016 to 2019 and played his final season of college eligibility in 2019–20 at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

. Derrik was forced to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

the 2015–16 season due to an injury, and began play the following season at Valparaiso. He graduated from Valparaiso in December 2018, taking graduate-level courses in the 2019 spring term to maintain his basketball eligibility; his graduation made him immediately eligible to play at Butler.

References

External links

NBA Bio & Stats

Where Are They Now? Rik Smits - ESPN Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smits, Rik 1966 births Living people 1986 FIBA World Championship players Centers (basketball) Dutch expatriate basketball people in the United States Dutch men's basketball players Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Marist Red Foxes men's basketball players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players from the Netherlands Sportspeople from Eindhoven

Early life and college career

NBA career

National team career

Life after the NBA

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

See also

References

External links