No. 2: Kiki Vandeweghe
Date: October 27th, 1984 vs. Kansas City Kings
Statistics: 47 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists | 19-of-23 FG | 9-of-9 FT
To paint a picture on just how historic Kiki Vandeweghe’s Opening Night performance in 1984 was, consider this statistic. For 25 years, it stood as the highest-scoring individual game for a player with a new team before Kyrie Irving stole the show with a 50-point masterpiece in Brooklyn.
Over the two seasons before joining the Trail Blazers, Vandeweghe averaged 28.0 points and 5.1 assists on 55.3 percent shooting from the field, and 26 3-point makes (an elite mark for his time).
That summer, the Blazers offered the motherlode for Vandeweghe’s services, including gritty, 20-point scorer Calvin Natt, talented stat-stuffer Fat Lever, vagabond Wayne Cooper, and Draft capital.
In exchange, Portland received what Jack Ramsey believed to be “the best of the small forwards,” a player on the same level as Bernard King.
Vandeweghe wasted little time showing off his efficient array, above-the-rim baskets, a deceptively-quick first step to the basket, the 16-footer on occasion, and perhaps most redeeming, a patient shot selection.
It isn’t quite as impressive on tape. Defensive philosophies in 1984 simply aren’t what they would become some years later, and Vandeweghe found little resistance, especially against a languid, 31-win Kansas City Kings team.
It’s difficult to ever not have a 47-point, 19-of-23 shooting performance not claim the No. 1 spot. But skill-wise, there is one that may have been a bit better.