Red Auerbach, the legendary Hall of Fame coach of the Boston Celtics and then-Celtics president, thought Darnell Valentine was destined for greatness in the NBA.
Auerbach scouted Valentine at Kansas, and was deeply impressed.
In the Feb. 3, 1979 issue of The Reporter, an Akron, Ohio, newspaper, Josh Watson wrote the following:
“Every pro coach in the NBA knows you got to have a playmaker--without one you don't go too far in the NBA. Kansas Darnell Valentine is not only a great playmaker, he's also a 20 point per game scorer. Red Auerbach likes what he saw of Valentine and thinks Valentine will have a great future in the NBA.
“Auerbach also would like to see Valentine wearing a Boston uniform. Keep your eyes on Darnell Valentine; you are going to hear a lot about this great playmaker out of Kansas.”
Now, entering his second season in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, Valentine was also drawing rave reviews from Portland coach Jack Ramsay. Despite playing limited minutes his rookie year backing up Kelvin Ransey at point guard and averaging just 6.4 points per game on only 41.3 percent shooting (worst percentage on team), Ramsay thought Valentine showed great potential and deemed this former KU All-American for stardom.
"Darnell Valentine may be the best point guard in the NBA, you'll see," Ramsay told Sports Illustrated on Nov. 1, 1982.
With Ransey traded to Dallas after last season for 6-10 center Wayne Cooper and a first-round draft pick in 1985, Valentine had now emerged as the starting point guard for the Blazers. But he had competition from 1982 first-round draft pick Lafayette Lever (11th overall) from Arizona State.
Valentine and Lever had actually battled each other twice in college with Valentine bettering him both times. Valentine scored 16 points to Lever’s 10 in Arizona State’s 73-65 overtime victory over KU on Dec. 29, 1979, while Valentine had 16 points again to Lever’s 9 in KU’s 88-71 upset win over the No. 3 Sun Devils on March 15, 1981 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Lawrence Journal-World’s Chuck Woodling wrote about the competition between Valentine and Lever while also addressing why Portland dealt Ransey to the Mavericks.
“We traded Ransey because we were 17th in the league in rebounding last year and we needed help on the boards,” a Blazers’ spokesman said. “Mychal Thompson was our leading rebounder last year and Cooper averaged more rebounds per minute than Thompson did.
“We had the 11th pick in the draft and we didn't think there'd be a big guy available then. The reason we traded Ransey--and we really didn't want to--is because we think Lever is better than Kelvin was when he came into the league."
Tony Guy, Valentine’s teammate at KU, was also high on Lever. The two guarded each other last season on Nov. 30, 1981, a 63-62 Jayhawk victory. Lever scored 17, while Guy had 16.
“I think he is a complete ballplayer,” Guy told Woodling. “His strongest asset is he's more conscious of the team than he is of himself, and I think the people in the NBA were impressed by that. In guarding him, I had to be conscious of not relaxing because he has a real good jump shot. And I thought he was a great defensive player."
Despite drafting Lever, the Portland spokesman said the starting point guard position was for Valentine to lose.
“Really, it's up to him,” he said. “Last year Darnell started well, then tailed off. He had foul problems and maybe shot too much. But we think he'll have a better understanding next season. We're still high on Darnell, and the other kid will have to beat him out."
Valentine won the point guard battle and played great before breaking his foot in early January during a game against Indiana. The UPI reported on Jan. 6, 1983:
“The Portland Trail Blazers were clicking on 411 cylinders until point guard Darnell Valentine, sparkplug of their fast break, went down with a foot injury. Valentine, averaging 14.4 points and the third-leading ball thief in the NBA entering Tuesday night's game against Indiana, suffered a stress fracture of the left foot in a second-quarter collision. The second-year dynamo out of Kansas, Valentine who moved into the starting lineup when the Trail Blazers traded away Kelvin Ransey, will be out at least six weeks - at least until Valentine's Day."
"We're going to miss his intensity and his hustle. He seems to fire up the whole team when he makes a steal or lays it up 'through five guys," Thompson said.
Lever replaced Valentine as starter and played very well. According to the 1984 Pro Basketball Handbook, “Played good defense and showed he’s a future leader by running the offense.”
Lever played in 81 games with 45 starts, averaging 7.8 points, a team-high 426 assists (5.3 apg), 1.9 steals and 2.8 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game, while shooting 43.1 percent from the field.
As for Valentine?
He nearly doubled his scoring average from his rookie season to 12.5 points while third on the team with 293 assists (team-high 6.2 per game), first with 2.1 steals, and 2.5 rebounds in just 47 games (36 starts), while shooting 45.4 percent from the floor and 79.3 percent at the charity stripe, also improvements on his rookie year.
The Pro Basketball Handbook reported that Valentine “became the No. 1 point guard when Kelvin Ransey was traded to Dallas. Promptly spent 35 games on the shelf with a foot injury...Is not a real offensive threat and his jumper could use a lot of work. But plays defense like he means it.
“He’s a fierce competitor,” Ramsay said. “He never stops. He’s never going to be outplayed.”
Portland finished the season at 46-36 — a four-game improvement over last season — and fourth place in the Pacific Division.
Entering the playoffs, Valentine started over Lever and raised his game to another level, helping the Blazers beat Seattle 2-0 in the first round before the Lakers and Magic Johnson beat Portland 4-1 in the Western Conference semifinals.
Valentine played seven games in the playoffs, averaging 12.1`points, 8.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 29.3 minutes per game, while shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 76.2 percent at the free throw line. He set a franchise-tying record with 15 assists in a Game 2 loss to the Lakers, while dishing 14 assists in a Game 3 OT loss to L.A. He also recorded game highs in the playoffs of 18 points, four steals and 38 minutes.
Lever, meanwhile, averaged 6.0 points, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steals in 19.1 minutes per game in the playoffs, while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 80.0 percent at the charity stripe.
But with Lever’s emergence when Valentine was injured, it looked like a heated competition for the starting point guard spot entering the offseason.
The Pro Basketball Handbook thought Lever might have the edge:
“Lafayette Lever is one of the best young point guards in the league, leaping into the void as a rookie when Darnell Valentine went down with a leg injury. Lever may actually have stepped ahead of Valentine now on the depth chart.”
While that remained to be seen, Valentine was already drawing great praise from Ramsay, Thompson and others around the league for his outstanding defense and tenacious work ethic.
Just listen to David Magley, Valentine’s former teammate at Kansas who played briefly in his rookie season in 1982-83 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I gained even greater respect for Darnell,” Magley told the Journal-World after the Cavs released him. “I respected Darnell at KU because he worked so hard. He’s kept it up in the NBA. Darnell is so devoted. A lot of NBA players just don’t show the intensity he does.”
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