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Chris Webber
By: Mike Jindrick
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In his two years in college Chris Webber and the “Fab 5” took
the Michigan Wolverines to the NCAA Championship game.
Webber was also a First Team All-American selection and a
finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Awards as a sophomore on
the strength of averaging 17.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.5
blocks per game. However, some want to look past all of the
positives that Webber accomplished and remember the one
mistake that Webber made playing for Michigan. That is the
timeout that he called with 11 seconds left on April 5, 1993 in the
championship game vs. North Carolina.
With Webber’s Michigan squad down by two, Webber dribbled
the ball up court and called a timeout. This would have been the
absolute smartest thing to do in that situation. However, the
Wolverines didn’t have any timeouts remaining, which resulted in
a technical foul. We all know the story… Michigan goes on to lose
77-71. Over the past 12 years, for some reason everyone
forgets that Michigan was already down two. Sure, maybe they
could have tied the game with that possession, but maybe not.
One thing is for certain though. Michigan would have never made
it to that game, and would have never even been in that
position if it wasn’t for their superstar Chris Webber. But still
today, people still talk about that decision to call timeout that a
young 20-year-old Chris Webber made.
Fast-forward five years to May 14, 1998. At this point in his now
5 year professional career, Webber has become the first
sophomore since Magic Johnson in 1979 to be selected number 1
in the NBA Draft, he has also won the Rookie of the Year Award,
been in the All-Star game, and has career averages of 20 points,
9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. But, on this day, Webber gets
traded from Washington to the nationally ignored Sacramento
Kings for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe. If you didn’t follow
basketball, or didn’t live in Sacramento, you probably didn’t know
anything about the Kings. That’s probably because the previous
year the Kings had a record of 27-55, and the year before that
they went 34-48. Now, bring in Chris Webber. Since then,
Webber and the Kings have never seen a losing season. Not
only that, but in the seven years that Webber spent in
Sacramento, the Kings had a better overall record than any
other team in the NBA. Better than the Lakers, better than the
Spurs, better than anyone. That’s right, Chris Webber turned a
losing franchise that most knew little about, and many never
even heard of, to the winningest team in the NBA.
So, what do people say about Webber’s time in Sacramento
now? Those that actually understand basketball and follow the
NBA, see that he took a team down in the dumps to one of the
best franchises in the league, and he is greatly respected for
that. But, those that don’t understand the NBA or basketball just
talk about how Webber still never won a championship in
Sacramento. Never mind, the amazing things that he did there. It
seems like so many people just look at the negative of C-Webb.
Even if Webber had won 5 championships in Sacramento, people
would still say, “Yeah… but remember that timeout that he
called?” Get over that timeout that happened 12 years ago in a
game where it probably didn’t even determine the outcome.
Chris Webber has consistently been an amazing basketball
player for many years. He is a tremendous scorer, passer,
rebounder, defender, and most importantly he makes those
around him better.
Towards the end of last season, Webber got traded from
Sacramento to Philadelphia to play along side Allen Iverson. Up
to that point in Sacramento Webber had averaged 21.7 points
(led the team), 9.7 rebounds (led the team), and 5.5 assists
(2nd on the team). They were also in 4th place in the Western
Conference. Meanwhile, Philadelphia was just outside making
the playoffs in the 9th seed in the East. So again, here comes
Chris Webber. Philadelphia makes it into the playoffs, where yes
they were beat by the defending champion Detroit Pistons. But,
they did improve to the 7th seed. (By the way the Kings without
Webber dropped the 6th seed in the West, and were kicked out
of the playoffs by the Sonics.) So, what do the people that
pretend to know about basketball have to say now about
Webber now? “Webber didn’t average as many points or
rebounds as he did in Sacramento. I think he is washed up. Oh,
and remember that timeout he called?” So, let me get this
straight. A guy who averaged 20, 9 and 5 on the season is
washed up? Last time I checked, those were All-Star caliber
numbers.
The bottom line is that the people that truly understand the NBA
and basketball can clearly see that Chris Webber is a great
player, and is one of the best power forwards of all time. But, for
some reason, some people continually try and look at the
mistakes that he has made in his career instead of the positives.
No, he hasn’t won a championship just yet, but regardless if he
does or not, he will still be one of the best ever. Charles Barkley
and Karl Malone, two of the best power forwards ever never
won a championship in their careers either. But, I have a feeling
that it just might be in the cards for C-Webb and A.I. to win one
in Philadelphia. However, I still don’t think that winning a
championship in Philly would be as amazing as turning the
Sacramento Kings from the early to mid-90s into the team that
had the highest winning percentage in all of basketball.
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