He attended the University of Houston and was drafted 14th overall in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He helped lead that team to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. In 1992 he served for the U.S. Olympic basketball team, nicknamed The Dream Team, and won a gold medal in the process. On February 14th, 1995, he was traded by the Blazers to the Houston Rockets, with whom he won an NBA Championship in 1995. He retired from the NBA after the 1997-'98 season in order to become head coach at his alta mater, the University of Houston.