After eight years as the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, Kiki VanDeWeghe stepped down Monday to transition into a league advisory role.
VanDeWeghe, 63, played a significant part in modernizing the league’s basketball operations during his tenure, beginning in the late months of former commissioner David Stern’s tenure and continuing through the entirety of Adam Silver’s current run. His role placed him on the front lines of NBA officiating, rule changes, discipline and daily communication with teams.
“It has been a privilege to lead NBA Basketball Operations,” VanDeWeghe said Monday in a statement released by the league. “I am proud of our staff and what we accomplished together, including the fundamental improvements to the game and unprecedented business success of our league. I am grateful for the opportunity to transition to this special advisor role, which will keep me engaged with and connected to League Operations while also giving me the freedom to pursue other areas of interest.”
In his next phase with the league, VanDeWeghe will advise both Silver and president of league operations Byron Spruell on basketball matters, the league announced.
“I am pleased that Kiki will continue as a special adviser so that we can further leverage his depth of experience and the institutional knowledge he gained as a player, coach and team and league executive over the past four decades,” Spruell said.
VanDeWeghe played a significant role in modernizing technology for the NBA’s basketball operations, including the development of the league’s replay center for officiating, communications hubs for teams, video rulebooks and establishing an analytics department, as well as helping to implement coach’s challenges and the play-in tournament.
VanDeWeghe also played a lead in creating a program to help train and prepare ex-NBA and WNBA players for management and front-office jobs within the league.
The ending of his formal league office role closes a chapter on what’s been a well-documented NBA life as a two-time All-Star in his 13-year playing career, averaging nearly 20 points per game, and as a general manager with both the Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets.