Rik Smits

Rik Smits, Dutch-American basketball player

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Born: August 23, 1966
Age in 2026: 60
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Birth year: 1966

About Rik Smits

Rik Smits, 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. An NBA All-Star in 1998, Smits reached the NBA Finals in 2000. In 1986, Smits led Marist to the ECAC Metro Conference tournament Championship and advanced to play in their first NCAA tournament in school history. Smits was drafted second overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, becoming the first Marist player to play in the NBA. In 2008 Smits won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class riding a BSA 500.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Rik Smits timeline

1986In 1986, Smits led Marist to the ECAC Metro Conference tournament Championship and advanced to play in their first NCAA tournament in school history.
1988Smits was drafted second overall in the 1988 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, becoming the first Marist player to play in the NBA.
1998An NBA All-Star in 1998, Smits reached the NBA Finals in 2000.
2008In 2008 Smits won the AHRMA Vintage National Premier 500 Intermediate Class riding a BSA 500.

The world when Rik Smits was born

Rik Smits was born in 1966. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1966

#1 song"The Ballad of the Green Berets" – SSgt Barry Sadler
Top movieA Man for All Seasons
Top TV showBonanza
Best-selling bookIn Cold Blood – Truman Capote

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentEngland wins the FIFA World Cup at Wembley
Top headlineCultural Revolution begins in China
Technology milestoneStar Trek premieres, inspiring future technologists
Defining fadBatman TV show craze
Notable inventionElectronic fuel injection
World population3.41 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderLyndon B. Johnson
Sports championBaltimore Orioles (World Series)
Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
U.S. population196.6M

1966 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Rik Smits's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1966	2026
Gas	$0.32	$3.45/gal
Average home	$14,200	$435,000
Average income	$9,400	$67,500
Minimum wage	$1.25	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$1.09	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.05	$0.73
Population	196.6M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, NBA. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.