Rik Smits

Lore & Background

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. 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. Smits was drafted second overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. He became the first Marist player to play in the NBA, and remains the only NBA or WNBA player from the school. In 2012, his jersey was retired by Marist. 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 10 December, Smits scored a career-high 44 points during a 111–104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He was 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 behind-the-back pass to New Jersey Nets forward Jayson Williams who followed immediately with a slam dunk. Unable to find shoes in his size growing up in the Netherlands, Smits developed nerve damage in his feet from wearing tight shoes as a teenager.

Reader's Guide

Rik Smits is a 7 ft center known for his entire NBA career with the Indiana Pacers. He was drafted second overall in 1988 from Marist College. He was an NBA All-Star in 1998 and reached the NBA Finals in 2000. His career averages: 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists per game in the regular season; 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists per game in the playoffs. He scored a career-high 44 points on December 10, 1995. He made a buzzer-beating shot in Game 4 of the 1995 Eastern Conference Finals. He retired after the 1999–2000 season due to foot problems.

Did You Know?

• After retiring, Smits won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class in 2008 riding a BSA 500.
• His son Derrik Smits played college basketball at Valparaiso University and Butler University.