Rik Smits
Smits in 2008
Personal information
Born (1966-08-23) 23 August 1966
Eindhoven, Netherlands
Listed height7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
CollegeMarist (1984–1988)
NBA draft1988: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Playing career1988–2000
PositionCenter
Number24, 45
Career history
1988–2000Indiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points12,871 (14.8 ppg)
Rebounds5,277 (6.1 rpg)
Blocks1,111 (1.3 bpg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Rik Smits (born 23 August 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 7-foot-4-inch (2.24 m) center was drafted by the Pacers out of Marist College with the second overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft.[1] An NBA All-Star in 1998, Smits reached the NBA Finals in 2000.

Early life and college career

Rik Smits and Ruud Harrewijn in 1986

Smits was born in Eindhoven. He started playing basketball at age 14 at PSV–Almonte in Eindhoven. Smits left for the United States in 1984, where he played for Marist College for four years.[2]

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 during a scene filmed in 1987 while Marist played against St. John's at Madison Square Garden.[3]

Smits was drafted second overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, 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 Indiana Pacers. 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 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, on the deeply talented Pacers. Smits' highest point-per-game average was in 1995–96 when he averaged 18.5 points per game. That season, on December 10, Smits scored a career-high 44 points during a 111–104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.[4] 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 ten points, seven rebounds and four assists, including a spectacular behind-the-back pass to New Jersey Nets forward Jayson Williams who followed immediately with a slam dunk.

Smits developed nerve damage in his feet from wearing tight shoes as a teenager.[5] 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 in the NBA Finals 4 games to 2.

Rik Smits visits Marist College on Alumni Day.

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.[5]

Smits was selected to the Pacers' 40th Anniversary Team, chosen by the fans. He ended up with the fourth most votes, trailing only Reggie Miller, Mel Daniels and Jermaine O'Neal.

National team career

Smits has also played for the senior Netherlands national team. He played in the 1986 FIBA World Championship and EuroBasket 1987.

Life after the NBA

After his retirement, Smits has devoted his time to collecting and racing vintage motocross motorcycles.[6] On 30 November 2011, Smits was featured in Yahoo! Sports, about his formal participation in competitive motocross racing.[7] In 2008 Smits won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class riding a BSA 500.[8]

In 1998, near the end of his playing career, Smits bought a home in the Indianapolis suburb of Zionsville, Indiana, 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 12.5-acre (5.1 ha) 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.[9]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1988–89 Indiana 827124.9.517.000.7226.1.9.41.811.7
1989–90 Indiana 828229.3.533.000.8116.21.7.62.115.5
1990–91 Indiana 763822.2.485—.7624.71.1.31.510.9
1991–92 Indiana 745523.9.510.000.7885.61.6.41.413.8
1992–93 Indiana 818125.6.486—.7325.31.5.3.914.3
1993–94 Indiana 787527.1.534.000.7936.22.0.61.015.7
1994–95 Indiana 787830.5.526.000.7537.71.4.51.017.9
1995–96 Indiana 636330.2.521.200.7886.91.7.3.718.5
1996–97 Indiana 525229.2.486.250.7976.91.3.41.117.1
1997–98 Indiana 736928.6.495.000.7836.91.4.61.216.7
1998–99 Indiana 494925.9.490.000.8185.61.1.41.114.9
1999–00 Indiana 797923.4.484.000.7395.11.1.21.312.9
Career 86779226.6.507.115.7736.11.4.41.214.8
All-Star 1021.0.429—1.0007.04.0.02.010.0

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990 Indiana 3332.0.500—.8185.31.0.71.312.3
1991 Indiana 5017.6.568—.8753.6.4.21.49.8
1992 Indiana 319.3.364—1.0002.0.0.7.33.3
1993 Indiana 4435.8.578.000.7278.01.81.21.022.5
1994 Indiana 161628.1.472—.8065.31.9.6.616.0
1995 Indiana 171732.1.5471.000.8047.02.0.3.820.1
1996 Indiana 5533.2.545—.7867.41.6.4.419.0
1998 Indiana 161629.8.502.000.8595.31.3.5.916.6
1999 Indiana 131322.5.456—.9505.0.7.51.211.8
2000 Indiana 222121.0.498.000.8753.51.0.4.911.0
Career 1049626.4.507.250.8295.21.3.5.914.8

Personal life

Smits has a son named Derrik Smits, listed at 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m) and 240 pounds (110 kg), who played for the Valparaiso University men's basketball team from 2016 to 2019[10] and played his final season of college eligibility in 2019–20 at Butler University.[11] Derrik was forced to redshirt the 2015–16 season due to an injury, and began play the following season at Valparaiso.[12] 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.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1988 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. ↑ Webb, Tyler (31 January 2019). "The Oral History of the Rik Smits Era at Marist College". Center Field.
  3. ↑ Tinsley, Justin (29 June 2018). "How Eddie Murphy's 1988 'Coming to America' — plus the Showtime Lakers and N.W.A. — ushered in a cultural revolution". Andscape. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Pacers 111, Clippers 104. December 10, 1995
  5. 1 2 Pablo S. Torre (4 July 2011). "Larger Than Real Life". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. ↑ Benbow, Dana Hunsinger (10 February 2015). "Rik Smits' motorcycle obsession still going strong". The Indianapolis Star.
  7. ↑ Weber, Jim (30 November 2011). "Rik Smits finds a home away from hoops … on a dirt bike?". Yahoo Sports.
  8. ↑ "2008 AHRMA Gallery of Champions". AHRMA. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Fittes, Emma Kate (14 July 2017). "Hot Property: Look inside ex-Pacer Rik Smits' $2.7 million Zionsville estate". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "Derrik Smits Basketball Recruit Page". Rivals Recruiting. Rivals (Yahoo). Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  11. 1 2 Woods, David (28 April 2019). "Zionsville's Derrik Smits picks Butler as transfer destination". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  12. ↑ "Men's Basketball: Derrik Smits". Valparaiso Crusaders. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
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