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Portland Trail Blazers: 25 Best Players To Play For The Trail Blazers

By Phil Watson

Oct 29, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; A general view during a game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; A general view during a game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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LOS ANGELES - DECEMBER 1987: Kiki Vandeweghe #55 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the December 1987-1988 NBA season game at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – DECEMBER 1987: Kiki Vandeweghe #55 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers during the December 1987-1988 NBA season game at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images) /

The Portland Trail Blazers paid a steep price to bring in All-Star Kiki Vandeweghe in June 1984, trading Calvin Natt, Fat Lever, Wayne Cooper, a second-round pick in 1984 and a first-round selection in 1985 to the Denver Nuggets to get the scoring forward.

He shot the ball. It’s what he did.

POR_10_VANDEWEGHE
POR_10_VANDEWEGHE /

Vandeweghe led the NBA in 3-point shooting in 1986-87, was second in free-throw shooting in 1984-85 and fifth in scoring in 1986-87.

He was traded in February 1989 to the New York Knicks in exchange for a first-round pick in 1989.

In parts of five seasons in Portland, Vandeweghe averaged 23.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 34.4 minutes per game, shooting .526/.408/.881.

He averaged 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a senior at UCLA, leading the Bruins to an unexpected berth in the national title game, and was the 11th overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1980 NBA Draft.

His rights were traded to the Nuggets in December 1980 after he refused to sign with Dallas.

With Denver, he was a two-time All-Star and was second in the NBA in free-throw shooting in 1982-83.

Vandeweghe was waived by the Knicks in June 1992 and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers that October and retired in 1993.

He was later the general manager in Denver from August 2001 to May 2006 and was GM of the New Jersey Nets from May 2008 to May 2010.

He also served a stint as the Nets’ interim coach in 2009-10, going 12-52.

Vandeweghe is 43rd in NBA history with a field-goal percentage of .525 and 20th with a free-throw percentage of .872.

Next: Sabas One Of The Oldest Rookies Ever

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