Last Updated on April 4, 2025 by Mat Diekhake
Here’s the profile for Rik Smits:
- Full Name: Rik Smits
- Nickname: The Dunking Dutchman
- Nationality: Dutch (Netherlands)
- Date of Birth: August 23, 1966
- Hometown: Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Height: 7 feet 4 inches (224 cm)
- Weight: 250 lbs (113 kg)
- Wingspan: 7 feet 6 inches (229 cm)
- Shoe Size: Wore size 20 shoes
- Position: Center
- Jersey Number: 24, 45 (Indiana Pacers)
- Draft: 1988 NBA Draft, 1st Round, 2nd overall pick by the Indiana Pacers
- College: Marist College (1984–1988)
- Led Marist to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1986.
- High School: Attended high school in the Netherlands before moving to the United States for college; specific high school details aren’t widely documented.
- Teams Played For: Indiana Pacers (1988–2000)
- NBA All-Star in 1998.
- Named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 1989.
- Helped lead the Pacers to the NBA Finals in 2000.
- Championship Rings: 0 NBA Championships
- Children: Two
- Daughter: Jasmine Smits, who serves as the Player Relations Coordinator for the Indiana Pacers and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
- Son: Derrik Smits, a 7-foot center who played college basketball at Valparaiso University and later at Butler University.
- Siblings: Information about his siblings is not widely documented.
After retiring from professional basketball, Smits pursued a passion for vintage motocross racing, collecting and racing vintage motorcycles. He won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class riding a BSA 500 in 2008.