Kiki Vandeweghe flew under the radar during and after his NBA career. But his stats suggest that shouldn’t be the case, then and now.
The Nuggets drafted Vandeweghe in 1980 and added him to a talented roster featuring Alex English, David Thompson, and Dan Issel, all of whom averaged over 20 PPG. Kiki immediately became the highest scorer outside of the big three with 11.5 PPG and posted the team’s second-highest free-throw percentage at 81.8%.
Kiki! (photo courtesy Denver Nuggets on X)
In his second year, he jumped to 21.5 PPG and shot an extremely efficient 56% from the field. Despite his great performance, the league overlooked him and gave him no award nominations.
By the start of the 1982-1983 season, David Thompson had left the team via a trade with Seattle, and by year’s end, Vandeweghe established himself as a phenomenal second option behind Alex English. He averaged 26.7 PPG and earned his first All-Star selection along with MVP votes. Moreover, Vandeweghe dominated in both playoff runs both years, even as the team exited early.
Kiki peaked the next season, averaging 29.4 PPG, shooting 55.8%, and earning his second and final All-Star nod. That season ended in disappointment when the Jazz eliminated the Nuggets in the first round.
The Nuggets then traded Kiki to the Portland Trail Blazers in a deal headlined by future Nuggets star Lafayette (Fat) Lever. Amazingly, the Nuggets traded Vandeweghe for a guard who had scored an average of just 8.8 PPG in the NBA at that point.
Kiki averaged 23.5 PPG over five seasons with the Trail Blazers, then was moved to the Knicks and later experienced a mini-resurgence with a 16.3 PPG season in 1990-1991 at age 32 before finishing his career with the Clippers at 34.
While Vandeweghe had plenty of playoff experience over his NBA career — reaching the playoffs every season except his rookie year — he never advanced past the second round of the Eastern or Western Conference Playoffs in 12 tries.
My take is that Kiki Vandeweghe had a fascinating run, and it’s a shame that his name and play have faded into obscurity. One reason is that his career overlapped with some of the best talent the league has ever seen. Plus, the teams he played for never challenged for a championship.
