Happy 67th Birthday Kiki VanDeWeghe
- Jake C
- Aug 1
- 7 min read
Cover photo: Kiki VanDeWeghe working on the Boston Celtics’ Cedric Maxwell. Photo credit: NBAE, Getty Images.
One of the best scorers of the 1980s celebrates a birthday on August 1 as former Denver Nuggets’ great Kiki VanDeWeghe turns 67.
VanDeWeghe was born in Wiesbaden, Germany. His father, Ernie, who was born in Montreal, Canada, played for the New York Knicks from 1949-1956. Kiki’s mother, Colleen Kay Hutchins, was Miss American in 1952.
Attending Pacific Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, Calif., VanDeWeghe (full name Ernest Maurice VanDeWeghe III), made 4th team Parade All-American in 1976.
VanDeWeghe attended UCLA, where he was a teammate of future Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes. In four years as a Bruin, VanDeWeghe averaged 12.2 points on 57% shooting and 5.0 rebounds per game in 113 games (24.9 minutes). He averaged 19.5 points on 55.7% shooting (13.1 attempts) and 6.8 rebounds in 33.8 minutes per game as a senior. He was also an Academic All-American and a Rhodes Scholarship finalist.
The 1979-80 Bruins finished with a 22-10 record and made the National Championship game, where they lost 59-54 to the University of Louisville. In the regional semifinal against Purdue (67-62 UCLA) VanDeWeghe shot 9-of-12 and made all six of his foul shots for 24 points. In 1980, he was named 1st team All-Pac-10.
The 6 foot, 8 inch, 220 pound forward was drafted 11th overall in 1980 by the Dallas Mavericks. Darrell Griffith, who was Louisville’s star in that ‘80 title game, was drafted second overall, and Kevin McHale was taken third. New Jersey Net big man Mike Gminkski was drafted seventh, and one selection behind “G-Man” was Andrew Toney, who became known for his big performances against McHale’s Celtics.
VanDeWeghe was the first ever draft pick of the Mavericks, and was traded to the Denver Nuggets on December 3, 1980 after not suiting up for the Mavericks.
The ‘80-‘81 Nuggets were stocked with talent in the forms of David Thompson (25.5 points per game), Alex English (23.8 points per game), Dan Issel (21.9 points per game), and VanDeWeghe (11.5 points per game). The 22-year-old also averaged 5.3 rebounds and played 51 games, 27.0 minutes per game. The Nuggets finished the season with a 37-45 record.
Doug Moe, who took over as head coach 31 games into the ‘80-‘81 campaign, was the full-time head coach in VanDeWeghe’s second season. This team was first in the NBA in points per game (126.5) and offensive rating (114.3), won 46 games and made the playoffs, where they lost two games to one to the Phoenix Suns in the first round. English averaged 25.4 points and made All-NBA 2nd team. Issel averaged 22.9 points and 7.5 boards. VanDeWeghe posted 21.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game on 56.0% shooting (15.4 attempts) in 33.8 minutes. He started 78 out of 82 contests.
Before a back injury suffered during the 1987-88 season when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers, VanDeWeghe was one of the best scorers in the NBA, going on a five-year run (two with English). The pair formed the best wing scoring duo in the NBA.
Kiki VanDeWeghe Stats from 1982-83 through 1986-87
1982-83 (DEN): 26.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 54.7% FG (18.7 FGA), 35.5 minutes, 82 games, 79 starts, All-Star.
The Nuggets won 45 games and defeated the Suns 2-1 in the first round and lost in five games to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. VanDeWeghe averaged 28.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 58.3% shooting against the Suns (he led all scorers in Game 1 with 32 points). He scored 37 points in Game 4 of the Spurs’ series, a series where he posted 25.6 points (52.0% from the field) and 7.4 rebounds per game.
1983-84 (DEN): 29.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 55.8% FG (20.6 FGA), 35.1 minutes, 78 games, 71 starts, All-Star.
The Nuggets won 38 games and made the playoffs, with the league’s No.1 scoring offense (123.7) while finishing second in offensive rating (111.3).
On December 13, 1983, the Nuggets and Detroit Pistons engaged in an offensive shootout, a game that to this day is the highest scoring in NBA history with 370 combined points. The Pistons won the game 186-184 in three overtimes. Isiah Thomas posted 47 points and 17 assists. John Long scored 41 and Kelly Tripucka 35. VanDeWeghe in 50 minutes exploded for 51 points (with 9 rebounds and 8 assists) on a blistering 21-of-29 shooting (9-of-11 from the free-throw line). English shot 18-of-30 and 11-of-13 from the line. He finished with 47 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Issel registered 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.
VanDeWeghe led all scorers in Game 1 of the first round series against the Utah Jazz with 33 points. The Jazz won the series three games to two.
On June 7, 1984, the Nuggets traded VanDeWeghe to the Portland Trail Blazers for point guard Lafayette “Fat” Lever, forward Calvin Natt, and center Wayne Cooper. The Blazers under Jack Ramsay won 48 games in ‘83-‘84, and would win 42 games in ‘84-‘85. VanDeWeghe led the team in scoring (22.4 points per game) with Mychal Thompson averaging 18.4, Jim Paxson 17.9, and a rookie Clyde Drexler 17.2. The team’s 115.5 points per game was the fourth-best in the league that season.
1984-85 (POR): 22.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 53.4% FG (16.1 FGA), 34.8 minutes, 72 games, 69 starts. The Blazers defeated the Mavericks in four games in the first round and lost to the Lakers in five games in the Western Conference Semifinals. VanDeWeghe scored 24 points (11-of-18) with 6 rebounds in Game 3 against the Mavericks, a game that the Blazers won 122-109. He averaged 25.8 points (57.9% FG) in the four games against the Mavericks and 19.8 points (50.0% FG) in the five games against the Lakers.
1985-86 (POR): 24.8 points, 54.0% FG (16.9 FGA), 35.3 minutes, 79 games, 76 starts. The Blazers won 42 games and lost three games to one in the first round to the Nuggets. VanDeWeghe scored 36 points in Game 2 (12-of-19, 12-of-12 from the line), and for the series averaged 28.0 points on 58.0% from the field.
1986-87 (POR): 26.9 points, 52.3% FG (19.6 FGA), 38.3 minutes, 79 games, 79 starts. The ‘86-‘87 Blazers won 49 games and lost three games to one to the Houston Rockets in the first round. VanDeWeghe scored 30 points (12-of-19, 6-of-7 from the line) in Game 1 and 27 points (11-of-19) in Game 4. He averaged 24.8 points in the series on 53.5% from the field.
In 37 games (seven starts) in ‘87-‘88, VanDeWeghe averaged 20.2 points on 50.8% shooting in 28.1 minutes per game. He was out of action from February 24 to April 3. The Blazers won 53 games and lost to the Jazz in four games in the first round.
After 18 games (13.9 points on 47.5% shooting) with the Blazers to begin the ‘88-‘89 season, Vandeweghe was traded on February 23, 1989 to the New York Knicks for a first-round draft pick. In 27 games with the Knicks that season, the 30-year-old in 18.6 minutes per game averaged 9.2 points on 46.4% from the field (7.7 attempts). On March 2, in just his second game as a Knick, he scored 23 points in 24 minutes in a game against the Miami Heat.
Back problems and left foot tendinitis limited VanDeWeghe to just 22 games in ‘89-‘90 (11.7 points on 44.2% from the field), but in the 1990-91 season, back healthy again, he enjoyed a resurgent campaign. Starting 72 out of 75 games, he tallied 16.3 points on 49.4% shooting (12.4 attempts) in 32.3 minutes per game. The Knicks were swept by the Chicago Bulls in the first round, but VanDeWeghe led the Knicks in scoring in the series with 17.0 points on 40.6% from the field.
In his last season with the Knicks (‘91-‘92), VanDeWeghe averaged 7.0 points in 14.3 minutes and played in 67 games. He appeared in 41 games with the Los Angeles Clippers in his final season of ‘92-‘93, producing back-to-back games of 24 points and 23 points on a combined 13-of-24 shooting in 19 minutes and 20 minutes against the Lakers (November 13, 1992) and Jazz (November 14). In his final NBA regular-season game on April 25, 1993, he scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting in 28 minutes with 6 assists in a 123-112 win. Ironically, the performance and victory happened against the Blazers.
In 13 NBA seasons, VanDeWeghe played 810 games and in those games averaged 19.7 points on 52.5% from the field (14.4 attempts) in 30.3 minutes per game. He averaged 23.3 points on 54.1% shooting in 293 games as a Nugget (16.8 attempts, 33.4 minutes) and 23.5 points on 52.6% shooting in 285 games as a Blazer (16.9 attempts, 34.4 minutes). He was a career 87.2% free-throw shooter.
From 1980-1984, VanDeWeghe and English made up the most potent scoring tandem in the NBA, with English during those years registering 23.8, 25.4, 28.4, and 26.4 points per game. The pair was the optimal duo to run Moe’s offense - “The Passing Game” - which had an emphasis on ball movement and screening.
“He took the brunt of the defense,” English, referring to VanDeWeghe playing the power forward position, told Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles on their Knuckleheads Podcast. “His first step was just off the chain. He would rock ‘em to sleep and not only would he shoot a jump shot, he would dunk on ‘em, left or right hand.”
English also alludes in the interview to his supreme-scoring teammate as being underrated for his total offensive game.
“I always felt that Kiki didn’t get what he deserved for his accolades and as far as being a great player, because he was a great player. If you backed off of him, he was gonna hit that jump shot, if you got up on him he was gonna triple threat you and go around you, and he could rebound. He had really big hands so he was really good. I enjoyed playing with him.”
From 1999-2001, VanDeWeghe was an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. In 2001, he was hired as Nuggets’ General Manager, and was the head coach of the New Jersey Nets for 64 games during the 2009-10 season. From 2013-2021, VanDeWeghe was the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. He is currently a special consultant to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. Kiki’s daughter, CoCo, is a former professional tennis player who was on the WTA tour until 2023.
Happy 67th birthday to Kiki VanDeWeghe.
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