Darnell Valentine left his mark on the Portland Trail Blazers

Darnell Valentine left his mark on the Portland Trail Blazers during his four and half seasons after being a first-round draft choice (No. 16 overall pick) in 1981. Valentine endeared himself to coach Jack Ramsay, his teammates, and fans with his non-stop hustle, tenacious defense, gritty determination, great playmaking and charming personality.

The 6-1 point guard and former KU All-American averaged 9.8 points, 5.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals while shooting 44.9 percent from the field in 300 regular-season games. Not great numbers, but his game simply transcended statistics.

Just listen to Ramsay, who wrote about Valentine in his 2004 book, Dr. Jack’s Leadership Lessons Learned From A Lifetime In Basketball. Under the caption, “Heart of a Champion,” Ramsay gushed over Valentine.

“Many of the players I coached who weren’t among the team’s most gifted players were the hardest workers and made maximum use of their skills. Darnell Valentine was perhaps the most self-disciplined player I ever dealt with.

“DV — who had watermelon-sized quads, a strong upper body and excellent quickness handling the ball and defending — worked fanatically on his conditioning. He was on the floor an hour before practice, working on his defensive footwork, pull-up jumpers, or full-court drives to the hoop. Then he would stretch for about 15 minutes before the team practice began. He was also extremely careful about his diet. He ate primarily foods high in carbohydrates and supplemented them with enough protein and fat to fuel his extraordinary energy level. Valentine even brought his own food blender with him on road trips and often boarded the team bus carrying large bags of fruit and veggies, which he offered to everyone. In addition to his fierce work ethic, relentless self-discipline and powerful will to win, he always wore a smile and was one of the best team players I ever coached.”

And just listen to Stu Inman, the Blazers longtime director of player personnel. Steve Duin of The Oregonian wrote on Jan. 31, 2007 after Inman died that “he understood what the Jerome Kerseys, Darnell Valentines and Terry Porters brought to a franchise...He had an eye for talent and a gift for labeling it in a manner you never forgot. 

“Valentine? ‘He has a beautiful relationship with a loose ball,’” Inman once said.

Indeed, he did. Valentine never saw a loose ball or a steal he didn’t like. He carved his name as one of the best defensive guards in Blazer history. And his effort and dedication were second to none. Nobody worked any harder than Darnell Terrell Valentine.

The Oregonian ranked Valentine the No. 33 best player in franchise history in 2009. Jason Quick wrote that “whenever the playoffs rolled around for the Trail Blazers in the early 1980s, that usually meant it was time for Darnell Valentine to heat up...A point guard with tree-trunk sized thighs, Valentine had some of the most prolific passing nights in team history during the postseason. He shares the team record for assists in a playoff game with 15, set in a Game 2 loss at the Lakers in the 1983 Western Conference semifinals. In Game 3, an overtime loss, he had 14. The next season, in a first-round series with Phoenix, Valentine had 13 assists in a Game 4 win and scored 29 points in a Game 3 loss.

“In all three seasons he reached the playoffs, he raised his assists averages significantly and had a big series against Phoenix in 1984 when he averaged 18.4 points and 8.4 assists. He also ranks fifth all time in team history in playoff assists.

"I was never the greatest player during the season," Valentine said. "But when it got to playoffs, I think teams were so intent on stopping our strengths – (Jim) Paxson and (Calvin) Natt – that it allowed me to make things happen."

Quick called him “an old-school point guard, one who consumed himself with defense, passing and leadership.”

He continued:

“(Valentine) says he looks back fondly at his time with the Blazers, even though it was sprinkled with adversity and constant battles for the starting job. He was the 16th overall pick out of Kansas in the 1981 draft, and the team saw enough of him in his rookie season that they traded former starter Kelvin Ransey.

“But in the following years, Valentine battled a broken foot and a broken hand, and soon, it was Valentine who was the hunted. He eventually lost his starting role. A newcomer named Terry Porter and another upstart, Steve Colter, created a three-way battle for the starting job in the 1985-1986 season.

"It was an open competition in training camp, and I came out the starter," Valentine said. "I was playing well, but then they wanted to change directions."

A trade to Indiana “fell through.”

"Then I was a lame duck," Valentine said. "Everything was so abrupt. So I passed the baton to Terry."

Valentine, who has lived in Portland since being drafted by the franchise, loved his time as a player in Rip City, where he played in front of energized sellout home crowds of 12,666 every game at Memorial Coliseum. The Blazers were the only professional sports team in Portland, so fans were crazy about their team.

"Coming out of Kansas, I was afraid that the NBA would be an overwhelming challenge," Valentine said. "But the Blazers — the Stu Inmans, the Harry Glickmans — they embraced and cared about us, and I think that eventually was reflected in the community. And it's amazing how that regenerates itself. Portland is a special place. I could feel that right from the start.”

Valentine has a favorite story about his time in Portland.

"I had those big legs, which were probably my rite to passage,” he said. “Well, there was another player in the league who had big legs too – World B. Free – and Mychal Thompson would never let me hear the end of it. He always wondered why I couldn't jump like World B. Free. So he always called me 'Ground Jordan'."

Valentine was extremely proud of his “big legs.” John Chanson of The Oregonian wrote in 2014 about his yearly uniform fitting with Donna Millak, who had sewn Portland’s jerseys for over four decades.

"I had to shorten his shorts every year,” Millak said. “He'd say, 'I have beautiful legs. I can't hide these things.' So I'd shorten the shorts, and he'd try them on and have to go find a mirror in the back of the shop because I didn't have one at my station.

"Darnell would parade around the shop in those shorts until we got it right." 

While Valentine might have been vain about his legs, he was selfless on the court. Valentine certainly had a special relationship with Ramsay, who always emphasized team basketball. When I interviewed Valentine with a group of reporters before his jersey retirement ceremony at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 1, 2005, I relayed to him that Ramsay said he was “one of the best team players (he) ever coached.”

Valentine was extremely humbled by Ramsay’s words.

“Coming from him, that’s an incredible compliment. I appreciate that,” Valentine said. “We did a lot of things alike. We thought alike. Even when I was traded to the Clippers, I understand the business of basketball now, sometimes it’s not about the coach and it’s not about your playing. It’s a business. Sometimes, things are done by committee. Jack and I, we had a great relationship.”

Valentine and Ramsay were both fitness fanatics and once went on a long bike ride together. D.V. spoke more about Ramsay to Canzano on his 750 The Game radio show in 2014 after his former coach died.

“He was a great, great man,” Valentine said. “He just touched everybody in such a personable way that I had nothing but respect. I remember me being a player trying to find my way here and trying to find whatever advantages I could to compete because I wasn’t the fastest, I didn’t jump the highest, I wasn’t the biggest guy. He invited me to go on a bike ride. The bike ride was from Portland to Seaside (about 79 miles). He never stopped. I was on the sideline, I was on the side of the street hoping some wind would hit me because I was resting and he would never stop. He shared his conditioning and getting the most out of yourself is beyond just basketball condition. 

“He was a triathlete, he trained as a triathlete. He would swim, bike, his discipline, his consistency, doing it every day after practice, coaching. To this day, I bought into being a well-rounded conditioned person. I wouldn’t define myself as an athlete anymore, but just my quality of life and him touching me at that time has paid dividends for me today. I’m active and still doing the things that he indebted to me at that time. He’s way beyond just a basketball coach and I think the number of people he touched and changed their lives, just too many to number. He was like the father of Portland. 

“... He’s reverenced. It’s a sad day in Portland today.”

Valentine added that Ramsay had “a sense of humor, but he was disciplined. He wanted plays run the way he wanted them to be run.”

And Valentine was the consummate point guard to run Ramsay’s complex offensive system. Unlike at KU, he always thought pass and team first and getting the ball to scorers like Paxson, Natt, Clyde Drexler and Kiki Vandeweghe.

Blazers Edge’s Dave Deckard ranked Valentine No. 55 among Portland top’s players, executives and other influencers on April 12, 2020.

Under the headline: “The Invisible Point Guard,” Deckard wrote:

“Legendary Portland Trail Blazers Coach Jack Ramsay was a physical fitness buff. He encouraged players to run, develop endurance, and stay fit as part of their regimen. With point guard Darnell Valentine, he needn’t have bothered. The 1981 draftee was way ahead of the program.

“Valentine played with a chiseled body, massive legs, and a commitment to playing the game the way it was meant to be played. For a point guard that meant passing, defense, and having a head on swivel. Valentine seldom failed in any of those departments. He may not have been the best point guard on the roster at any given time. At various times Kelvin Ransey, Fat Lever, Steve Colter, and Terry Porter all shared a locker room with Darnell. Like BBQ chips and those colored wedding mints, the Blazers couldn’t stop themselves from going back for more Valentine.

"Efficiency typified Valentine’s game. He didn’t score a ton because he didn’t take a lot of shots. His 45% average from the field indicated not just shooting skill, but a sharp eye for when and how to get his looks. His per-minute assist and steals rates were equal to, sometimes above, Lever’s. And oh, what he did in the playoffs. The combination of stamina and smarts served him well when everybody else was playing their 92nd game of the season. 

“In 1983-84 against a STACKED Phoenix Suns team, Valentine would average 18.4 points, 8.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 50% shooting...all above his regular-season numbers. He knew when, and how, to turn it on while still fitting in with all the higher-rotation players around him. Despite the constant swirl of point guards around him, Valentine’s playing time increased through 1985, but he battled injuries throughout. When Porter came on board, the writing was on the wall. The Blazers traded Valentine to the Los Angeles Clippers for a draft pick that would later become Arvydas Sabonis...one last assist on the way out the door. In the early Brandon Roy years, Valentine would return to the franchise, working with the young Blazers on personal development. He was also active with the NBA Players Association for many years.

“For being the right guy in so many different situations, providing an example of old-school point guard ethic, and the marvelous playoffs runs, Darnell Valentine earns the 55th spot in our Top 100 List of Trail Blazers players and influencers.”

Some readers and Blazer fans posted comments online after reading the article. One wrote: “I’m going to be happy with his ranking here. My memory of Darnell was of a dedicated worker. He worked hard on the court, and also worked hard as an athlete off the court. I think Jack Ramsay liked Darnell because they both shared similar work out ethics and approach. Darnell was a great athlete. If you were ranking ONLY that characteristic, he would be near the top.”

Another fan agreed:

“That’s exactly what I remember too. He was text book when it came to his shooting. Perfect form and great rotation on the ball. Everything he did was exactly how you would want to teach your kids how to play basketball.”

With his unwavering work ethic, tremendous self-discipline, great playoff performances and positive attitude, Valentine left his legacy in Portland and remains one of the franchise’s most popular players. And this Kansas native still feels the love in his adopted home while working as an employee specialist for Precision Castparts since 2007, a Fortune 500 company and worldwide manufacturer of complex metal components and products.

“Once you’ve played there, it’s like you’re always a member of the Portland Trail Blazers,” Valentine said in 2005 at Allen Fieldhouse.

“There's not a more supportive community for players in the NBA than Portland,” Valentine added to the Portland Tribune in 2017. “There are no better fans or people. That's the first thing that resonated with me. I love the positivity here. I'm a West Coast kind of guy, and I'm from Kansas, so I love Portland's weather. I love the city. My wife is from here. Portland has been an anchor for me. And I love what I do with Precision Castparts.”