Rik Smits [SEP] member of sports team
Rik Smits
Rik Smits (born August 23, 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman", is a Dutch retired professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) The center was drafted by the Pacers out of Marist College with the second overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft. An NBA All-Star in 1998, Smits reached the NBA Finals in 2000.
Career.
Smits was born in Eindhoven. He started playing basketball at age fourteen at
year that Shaquille O'Neal was able to play in the All-Star Game as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers as he was sidelined in 1997 due to a knee injury.
The NBA All-Star Game didn't resume until 2000. It marked the end of an era as 10 players from this roster never made the all-star team again: Nick Van Exel, Mitch Richmond, Vin Baker, Anfernee Hardaway, Shawn Kemp, Tim Hardaway, Steve Smith, Glen Rice, Rik Smits & Jayson Williams.