Portland Trail Blazers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

• Played five seasons with Trail Blazers (1984-88)
• Averaged 23.5 points and 2.9 rebounds per game

Kiki Vandeweghe was born in Germany and played his college ball at UCLA prior to being drafted No. 11 by the Dallas Mavericks in 1980. However, he refused to play in Dallas and was eventually shipped to the Denver Nuggets in December of that year.

Vandeweghe was immediately a solid player, averaging double-digits in points as a rookie while appearing in 51 games. Then in his sophomore year in the NBA, his scoring average jumped to 21.5 points per game and he grabbed 5.6 rebounds per game to go along with it.

By his third year as a pro, Vandeweghe made the All-Star team, and then again the following year. He was traded to Portland in the summer following his second All-Star appearance.

Vandeweghe’s scoring ways didn’t stop, as he put up 20-plus points per game in each of his four full seasons with the Trail Blazers, including a 26.9 mark in 1986-87. And while he only attempted just over one 3-pointer per game, he led the league in long-range shooting that season at 48.1 percent.

Vandeweghe’s ancillary numbers plummeted in Portland. After averaging 5.3 rebounds per game in 293 games with the Nuggets, he averaged just 2.9 in 285 games with the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers as a team went from mediocre to good during Vandeweghe’s time in Portland, winning 42, 40, 49, and 53 games over his four full seasons. The only time the team made it to the second round of the playoffs was in the 42-win season, so … go figure. Matchups are everything in the playoffs.

Vandeweghe went on to play three-plus seasons with the New York Knicks and one year with the Los Angeles Clippers before retiring in 1993 at the age of 34.