Chris Webber

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Webber 254 050315.jpg

Position: Power Forward
College: Michigan
NBA draft: 1993, 1st round
Orlando, traded to Golden State
Pro career: 12 seasons
Hall of Fame: None
(Active)

Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, better known as Chris Webber (born March 1, 1973 in Detroit, Michigan), is an NBA basketball player, most notably with the Sacramento Kings and currently with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Contents

[edit]

College career

After graduating from Detroit Country Day School (where his number, 44, is retired) and playing for the Yellow Jackets, 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.

[edit]

Infamous Timeout

On April 5, 1993, at Michigan's second consecutive championship game, Webber infamously called a time-out with 11 seconds left in the game when his team, only behind by two points, did not have any remaining, resulting in a technical foul that effectively clinched the game for North Carolina.

Webber was convicted of perjury in 2002. During the trial, he admitted to accepting large amounts of cash from a Michigan booster, Ed Martin, during his college career. This caused the NCAA to strike all of the Wolverines accomplishments from his two seasons (1991-92 and 1992-93) from their official records.

[edit]

The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame...

On April 3, 2006, as part of its regular series, ESPN Classic aired The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... Chris Webber for Michigan losing the 1993 NCAA Final. Their "Best of the Rest" reasons included the fact that Michigan was losing at the time of the gaffe, a reason also cited for their episode that attempted to exonerate Fred Brown for his errant pass that seemed to cost Georgetown the 1982 Championship Game. That play, in fact, was cited as one of the Top 5 Reasons:

  • 5. "The Ghost of Fred Brown." Or, "the Curse of the Superdome." Brown's gaffe also happened at the Louisiana Superdome, and also against North Carolina and their legendary coach, Dean Smith, giving Smith his two National Championships. The strange things that have happened at the Superdome are not limited to these two games. The NFL's New Orleans Saints have been perpetual losers, college football's Tulane University hasn't done well since the Superdome replaced Tulane Stadium as their home field as well as the Saints', the Sugar Bowl game has also seen its share of upsets since the game was moved there from Tulane Stadium, and one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history was the New England Patriots' win over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. The Superdome was built on the site of a graveyard, and observers of the occult, especially there in New Orleans, renowned as (supposedly) America's most paranormally-affected city, believe that this "desecration of holy ground" has stirred up the spirits of those buried there to the point where they have placed a curse on the building and its occupants. This does not, however, explain the lack of strange things that has happened there in the other NCAA Basketball Finals played there, or in the Super Bowls and Sugar Bowls played there that were not upsets.
  • 4. Webber himself. Michigan wouldn't have gotten there without him, and he did have 23 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in the game. Like Earnest Byner, previously profiled on The Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame... for "The Fumble" in the 1987 AFC Championship Game, Webber's earlier success in the game made it close enough for one play close to the end to make the difference.
  • 3. Steve Fisher. Michigan's head coach should have told the team, in its final time-out, so that all could clearly hear him, that this was the last one, so that there was no doubt. Fisher himself said that he said so, but that he should have said it louder. It should be noted, however, that Fisher came to Michigan after a coaching controversy just before the 1989 NCAA Tournament, and led the Wolverines to an upset win. If he can be blamed for losing a title he should have won in 1993, he must also be credited for winning a title no one expected him to win in 1989.
  • 2. The North Carolina defense. Dean Smith's team's have nearly always been very well-disciplined, and the Tar Heels forced 10 turnovers in the first half alone. This reason could also have been listed as "Carolina was better." As previously stated, Carolina was ahead, and was favored to win the game.
  • 1. "It never happened." As previously stated, the accomplishment of even reaching the game was stricken from the official record. Even more than that, Webber would not have come to Michigan had he not received money from boosters. Perhaps Webber can be blamed for his legal malfeasance, but if that's true, then he cannot be blamed for his title game mistake.

In spite of ESPN's efforts, it should be noted that Webber has never won a major basketball championship, either in college (despite two trips to the NCAA Championship Game, even if it is now officially recognized that this didn't happen) or in the NBA. Perhaps the time-out where no time-out existed (both on the scoreboard and, now, in the NCAA record book) was merely a symptom of a larger problem of Webber not being able to "win the big one."

[edit]

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 first round draft picks.

[edit]

Warriors

He had an outstanding first year, averaging 17 points and nine rebounds per game and thus winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He was instrumental in leading the Warriors back into the playoffs. However, he had a long-standing conflict with his coach, Don Nelson. 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" (2.08 m) tall. By the 1994 offseason, Nelson felt that he could no longer coach Webber.

[edit]

Bullets/Wizards

Webber was traded in 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 9 years, but they were swept by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.

[edit]

Kings

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, seven-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 second 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. After microfracture surgery, he returned for the final 25 games of the 2003-2004 season, but his athletism, agility, and mobility 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.

[edit]

76ers

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. Webber took some time to fit in with the 76ers offense, as he was a second scoring option for the first time in his career. However, he did help catapault the Sixers to a berth in the 2005 playoffs, where the Sixers lost to the Detroit Pistons.

Webber was ranked #64 in SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.

[edit]

Legal trouble

In 1998, Webber was arrested and charged with assault, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana, driving under the influence of marijuana and five other traffic-related violations after being pulled over for speeding on the way to the practice center at the MCI Center in downtown Washington D.C. Webber pleaded no contest and all charges were eventually dropped.

Later in 1998 during the off-season, while leaving Puerto Rico on a promotional tour for Fila sneakers, Webber paid a $500 fine after U.S. Customs found 11 grams of marijuana in his bag. Soon after Fila dropped Webber as an endorser. Webber sued Fila for wrongful dismissal, but the case was thrown out of court.

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. Shortly after a witness died, Webber 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. Webber was suspended by the NBA for a total of eight games. Five of the games were for a unnamed violation of the league substance abuse policies and three of the games for perjury to a grand jury.

On Tuesday, April 18, 2006, he and fellow teammate Allen Iverson were fined for not showing up at the Philadelphia 76ers final home game of the season, despite the fact that both had injuries[1]. One day later, both of them apologized for their actions[2].

[edit]

Trivia

  • He was featured on a reality TV show where he pranked several children into thinking they destroyed his NBA Rookie Of The Year trophy.
  • He is commonly nicknamed C-Webb, and is sometimes known as Spider and Hot Shot.
  • He once dated model Tyra Banks, who was often seen at Kings games.
[edit]

External links

et:Chris Webber ja:クリス・ウェバー

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Chris_Webber"