Kiki VanDeWeghe
A smooth-scoring forward turned architect, shaping NBA offenses and league operations across four decades in the game.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American basketball player, coach and executive·Birthday: August 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
Kiki VanDeWeghe's basketball life is a study in high-level versatility. The son of a former NBA player, he carved his own path as a devastatingly efficient scorer, a 6'8" forward with a feathery jump shot and a PhD in the mid-post game. His prime years with the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers were marked by offensive clinics, where he regularly ranked among the league's most accurate shooters. When his playing days ended, VanDeWeghe simply shifted his analytical mind to the front office, becoming a general manager known for bold moves. He later stepped onto the sidelines as an interim coach and then into the league office, where his deep understanding of the game's flow and rules has been instrumental in shaping NBA basketball operations and competition. His career embodies a seamless transition from executing plays to designing them.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Kiki was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Kiki Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Kiki's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Averaged 29.4 points per game in the 1983-84 NBA season, leading the Denver Nuggets in scoring.
- Served as the General Manager of the New Jersey Nets, overseeing the team's back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.
- Was named an NBA All-Star twice (1983, 1984) during his tenure with the Denver Nuggets.
- Played a key role in the NBA league office as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, involved in game development and rule interpretation.
Did You Know?
He graduated from UCLA with a degree in economics.
His mother, Colleen Kay Hutchins, was Miss America in 1952.
He led the NBA in free-throw percentage during the 1990-91 season, shooting 92.2% for the New York Knicks.
“A good shot is the one that goes in; the rest is just talk.”
