Kiki VanDeWeghe

1.1. Birth and Family

Ernest Maurice VanDeWeghe III was born on August 1, 1958, in Wiesbaden, West Germany. His father, Ernie Vandeweghe, was a former NBA player for the New York Knicks. His mother was Colleen Kay Hutchins, who won the 1952 Miss America pageant. Kiki VanDeWeghe is also the nephew of Mel Hutchins, another former NBA player and four-time All-Star. His niece, Coco Vandeweghe, is a former professional tennis player. Kiki VanDeWeghe and his wife, Peggy, have one son, Ernest Maurice Reece VanDeWeghe IV, who was born in 2002. His nephew, Hugh VanDeWeghe, also plays NCAA Division I basketball for the California Golden Bears.

1.2. Name Spelling Change

For the majority of his career, VanDeWeghe spelled his surname "Vandeweghe," with only the initial "V" capitalized, a spelling adopted by his parents. However, in 2013, he publicly announced a change in the spelling of his name to "VanDeWeghe." This modification was made in honor of his recently deceased paternal grandfather and namesake, as a way to acknowledge his heritage.

1.3. College Career

VanDeWeghe played four seasons of college basketball at the UCLA. His senior year was particularly notable, as the Bruins team faced lower expectations after losing three starters, David Greenwood, Roy Hamilton, and Brad Holland, to the NBA draft. The team also had a new coach, Larry Brown, who was in his first collegiate coaching role. Despite these challenges, the team, led by VanDeWeghe and fellow senior James Wilkes alongside new freshmen like "Rocket" Rod Foster, Michael Holton, and Darren Daye, and sophomore Mike Sanders, overcame a sluggish start to finish the regular season with a 17-9 record.

Dubbed "Kiki and the Kids," the Bruins were the 48th and final team selected for the 1980 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. With VanDeWeghe leading the team, they embarked on a surprising run to the final, upsetting top-ranked DePaul and Mark Aguirre along the way. In the championship game, UCLA ultimately lost to the University of Louisville, led by Darrell Griffith. VanDeWeghe earned all-conference honors in the Pac-10 (now known as the Pac-12) during his time at UCLA, averaging 19.5 points per game in his senior year.

2.1. Denver Nuggets (1980-1984)

Kiki VanDeWeghe was selected as the 11th overall pick in the 1980 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks. However, he refused to play for the Mavericks and demanded a trade, a decision that led to him being consistently booed whenever he played in Dallas for the remainder of his career. His wish was granted on December 3, 1980, when he was traded to the Denver Nuggets.

In his second season, the 1981-82 season, VanDeWeghe averaged 21.5 points per game and became a key player alongside Alex English. He would go on to average 20 or more points for seven consecutive seasons. In the 1982-83 season, he achieved his first All-Star selection, finishing second in the league in scoring with an average of 26.7 points. Notably, his teammate Alex English led the league in scoring that year, marking the only time in NBA history that two players from the same team finished first and second in scoring average. The following 1983-84 season saw VanDeWeghe achieve a career-high average of 29.4 points, placing him third in the league and earning him his second consecutive All-Star nod.

During the 1983-84 Nuggets season, VanDeWeghe recorded two games with 50 or more points. On December 13, 1983, he scored a career-high 51 points in a triple-overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons, a game that holds the record for the highest combined score in NBA history (186-184). On January 11, 1984, he scored exactly 50 points in a 163-155 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, which, at the time, was the highest combined scoring NBA regulation game ever. VanDeWeghe was particularly known for his effective use of the stepback move, which was often referred to as the "Kiki Move" by the end of his playing career.

2.2. Portland Trail Blazers (1984-1989)

In the summer of 1984, VanDeWeghe was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in a significant deal that sent Calvin Natt, Wayne Cooper, Fat Lever, and two draft picks to the Nuggets. He enjoyed several productive seasons in Portland, forming a dynamic scoring duo with Clyde Drexler and averaging close to 25 points per game. For three consecutive years after his trade, he led the Trail Blazers in scoring. In the 1986 NBA Playoffs, VanDeWeghe averaged a postseason career-high of 28 points per game, though the Trail Blazers lost to his former team, the Nuggets, in the first round. On March 5, 1987, he scored 48 points, his highest single-game total as a Trail Blazer, in a 127-122 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics.

However, during the 1987-88 season, VanDeWeghe suffered a back injury, which limited him to 45 games and led to him losing his starting position to Jerome Kersey. His three-point shooting percentage of .481 in the 1986-87 season was the highest in the league.

2.3. New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers (1989-1993)

In the middle of the 1988-89 season, VanDeWeghe was traded to the New York Knicks, the team where his father had played his entire professional career. He played for the Knicks for several years, showing signs of revival in the 1990-91 season where he averaged 16.3 points per game, ranking second on the team. However, his playing time decreased significantly in the subsequent season, falling below 15 minutes per game. In 1992, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. After playing half a season with the Clippers, VanDeWeghe retired from the league at the conclusion of the 1992-93 season. He finished his NBA playing career with 15,980 points in 810 games, averaging 19.7 points per game.

3.1. Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets Front Office

After retiring as a player, VanDeWeghe initially joined the front office of the Dallas Mavericks. During his tenure in Dallas, he played a crucial role in the development of future NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who was drafted in 1998. He also briefly served as an assistant head coach for the team.

On August 9, 2001, VanDeWeghe was appointed as the general manager of his former team, the Denver Nuggets. Under his leadership, the Nuggets saw a return to the NBA playoffs. Key decisions made by VanDeWeghe included drafting Carmelo Anthony in 2003, trading for Marcus Camby in 2002, and hiring George Karl as head coach in 2005. These moves significantly contributed to the Nuggets' nine-year playoff streak, beginning in the 2003-04 season. However, some of VanDeWeghe's other decisions did not yield the desired results, such as the drafting of draft bust Nikoloz Tskitishvili in 2002 and the sign-and-trade deal to acquire Kenyon Martin from the New Jersey Nets at the end of the 2003-04 season. Following a first-round playoff elimination by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2006 playoffs, the Nuggets announced that VanDeWeghe's contract would not be renewed.

3.2. New Jersey Nets Coaching and Management

After his departure from the Nuggets, VanDeWeghe spent the 2006-07 season as an NBA analyst for ESPN, appearing on programs like SportsCenter and NBA Shootaround. On December 31, 2007, he joined the New Jersey Nets as a special assistant to team president and general manager Rod Thorn, replacing Ed Stefanski.

On December 1, 2009, VanDeWeghe agreed to assume duties as the interim head coach of the Nets while continuing his role as general manager. He took over from Lawrence Frank after the Nets started the 2009-10 season with 16 consecutive losses, the worst start in NBA history. VanDeWeghe hired Del Harris as an assistant, who was initially intended to be his "virtual co-coach." However, Harris resigned midway through the season on February 2, 2010, after discovering that a side deal he believed he had made with VanDeWeghe to become the head coach had fallen through. The Nets finished the season with a franchise-worst 12 wins and 70 losses. Following a change in Nets ownership, Mikhail Prokhorov announced that VanDeWeghe would not return for the following season, concluding his tenure as both head coach and general manager. His head coaching record was 12 wins and 52 losses, with a winning percentage of .188.

3.3. NBA League Executive

In 2013, Kiki VanDeWeghe joined the leadership team of the NBA, serving as the executive vice president of basketball operations. He held this significant position for eight years, until 2021. Following this role, he transitioned into an advisory capacity, providing guidance to both NBA commissioner Adam Silver and president of league operations Byron Spruell.

5.1. Regular Season

5.2. Playoffs