Chris Webber
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Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, better known as Chris Webber (born March 1, 1973), is an NBA basketball player, currently playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.
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College career
After graduating from Detroit Country Day School, he went to college at the University of Michigan for two years. While at Michigan, Webber led the group known as the Fab Five, which included himself, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. This group, all of whom entered Michigan as freshmen in the fall of 1991, took the basketball team to the NCAA finals twice. The Fab Five, sporting long, baggy shorts and black shoes, became immensely popular as they were seen as bringing a hip hop flavor to the game. Four of the Fab Five (Webber, Rose, Howard, and King) made the NBA, and three of them (Webber, Rose and Howard) are still playing today.
On April 5, 1993, at Michigan's second consecutive championship game, Webber called a time-out with 11 seconds left in the game when his team did not have any remaining, causing a technical foul that effectively clinched the game for North Carolina.
NBA career
In 1993, Webber was selected first in the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic, who immediately traded him to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Anfernee Hardaway and three future draft picks.
He had an outstanding first year, winning the Rookie of the Year award. Webber averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game. He was instrumental in leading the Warriors back into the playoffs. Webber had a long standing conflict with the coach, Don Nelson, however. Nelson wanted to make Webber primarily a post player, despite Webber's superb passing ability and good ball handling skills for someone his size at 6'10" (2,08m) tall. By the 1994 offseason, Nelson felt could no longer coach Webber.
Webber was traded his second year to the Washington Bullets, where he was reunited with his college teammate and friend, Juwan Howard. He spent the next three years with the Bullets (later renamed the Washington Wizards), although in the 1995-96 season injuries limited him to 15 games. Webber rebounded from the injury and was named to his first All Star team in 1997. In 1997, Webber lead the Bullets into the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, but they were swept by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
On May 14, 1998, Webber was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe. Webber did not want to go to Sacramento, as they were a perennial losing team. When Webber arrived, the Kings also signed center Vlade Divac and drafted point guard Jason Williams. The Kings quickly became an exciting team, and also NBA title contenders. He was named to the All Star team in 2000 and 2001 while cementing his status as one of the premier power forwards in the NBA. Webber peaked in the 2000-01 season where he averaged a career-high 27.1 points and 10 rebounds.
On July 27, 2001 Webber signed a $127 million, 7-year contract with the Kings. However, he drew controversy from Sacramento fans through his large salary, frequent injuries, and the team's overall good performance while he was on the bench. However, in 2002, Webber led the Kings to the Western Conference Finals, against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Kings put up a good fight against the Lakers, eventually bowing out in 7 games. It was the high point of Webber's stint in Sacramento.
In the third game of the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks, Webber suffered a career-threatening knee injury that forced him to miss nearly a year of action. When he returned to basketball for the final 25 games of the 2003-2004 season, his ability had been visibly diminished. Nevertheless, Webber is still considered one of the better players in the league, averaging 22.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game in his career.
In February 2005, Webber, along with Michael Bradley and Matt Barnes, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for power forward Kenny Thomas, forward/center Brian Skinner, and well-known former King Corliss Williamson.
Investigation
In 2002, Webber was charged for lying to a grand jury as part of a larger investigation of misconduct in the University of Michigan's basketball department. Webber eventually pled guilty to lying about his role in a scandal in which four players, including himself, were accused of accepting money from a school booster while playing for the Michigan Wolverines. Due to that scandal, the Fab Five's accomplishments were removed from the NCAA record books.
External links
- ESPN Sportscentury (http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/moments/9904.html) names Chris Webber's illegal timeout at Michigan one of the biggest blunders in college basketball history.
- Chris Webber's Offical Site (http://www.chriswebber.com)de:Chris Webber