Indiana Pacers: 10 best centers in franchise history

Rik Smits is the Indiana Pacers best center of all-time

Rik Smits is without a doubt the team’s best center of all time. Though Smits doesn’t have the titles to show that Daniels does or the premier scoring that O’Neal does, Smits was a great all-around blend and a strong defensive anchor for the Pacers in their most competitive seasons.

Drafted by the team in 1988, Smits would play for the team for the entirety of his 12-year career, getting named to just one All-Star game. The lack of league-wide recognition for Smits’s game is criminal. He was well respected by some of the league’s best centers, and even served as a source of motivation for one of the game’s best centers of All-Time, Shaquille O’Neal.

Had Smits not dealt with foot issues, it’s arguable he would have been a more substantial part of the 2000 NBA Finals run, and that he would have been able to keep up with the likes of O’Neal and help Reggie Miller and the Pacers push to their only NBA title.

Smits is the best player to not have his number retired by the team, as Reggie Miller is the only player from the NBA era to have his number retired.

Instead, Smits played just 21.0 minutes per game in the 2000 playoffs, averaging 11.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in the playoffs that year.

For his career, Smits averaged 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. In terms of franchise leaderboards, he’s fourth in win shares, second in points, rebounds, and third in rebounds.

Though the faces around Miller were constantly changing as the Pacers aimed to build a winner in the 90s, Smits was constantly reliable.