The Sacramento Kings are going to honor Chris Webber tonight by retiring his jersey. C. Webb is one of my all-time favorite players. Here’s an excerpt from a column I wrote last season:
Webber led the Kings to five 50 win seasons, including a Western Conference best 61 wins in 2001-2002. The Kings lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals that year, but not before giving the Lakers all they could handle. Sacramento was seconds away from taking a 3-1 series lead in Game 4 before Vlade Divac tipped out a defensive rebound to Robert Horry. Horry scooped up the ball, squared himself with the hoop, and drilled a game-winning 3-pointer. The Lakers won Game 7 in overtime and went on to capture the last of their 3 consecutive NBA championships.
Webber’s NBA resume speaks for itself. The man is a legend — one of the greatest power forwards of all-time. But to truly appreciate the impact he’s had on the game of basketball, we have to go back to where it all started –- the Fab Five. The NBA Hall of Fame is about excellence on the court, but it also recognizes people who have “made significant contributions to the game of basketball.”
The Fab Five won 56 games and reached the NCAA finals in each of their two seasons together. Becoming the first NCAA basketball team with five freshman starters to advance to the NCAA tournament championship is a feat that will NEVER be duplicated. Despite failing to win an NCAA championship, that team had as much impact on the game of basketball as any team — pro or collegiate — ever. Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson, and Jimmy King brought long-baggy shorts, black shoes, black socks, and trash-talking to the forefront of the game.
They were trend setters that ushered in the hip-hop era of basketball. And at the center of it all was Chris Webber — the kid with the million dollar smile, the NBA skills, and the rock-star charisma.
Despite their overwhelming influence, traditionalists of the game weren’t appreciative of the Fab Five. They were anti-establishment, playing opposite of the John Wooden mantra of respecting one’s opponents and remaining humble in victory. The Fab Five was unabashedly cocky, playing with a swagger that until that time had been reserved for the playgrounds. Every young basketball fan wanted to be like Fab Five. Annual athletic royalties at the University of Michigan more than tripled from $2 million in the pre-Fab Five year of 1990-91 to $6.2 million in ‘93-94.
Unfortunately, not all of the notoriety the Fab Five brought to Michigan turned out to be positive. There was the grand jury investigation into Michigan booster Ed Martin that resulted in Webber’s conviction of criminal contempt for lying about accepting $280,000 in loans, beginning when he was in 8th grade. Michigan was forced to give up its victory in the 1992 Final Four over Cincinnati as well as its runner-up status in the 1992 tourney. The Wolverines also forfeited their 1992-93 season, removed the 1992 and 1993 Final Four banners from the Crisler Arena rafters, and erased Webber’s achievements from its record books.
Chris Webber made a mistake when he was a kid. He made an even bigger mistake by attempting to cover it up as an adult. But those blemishes shouldn’t deny him a place in the Hall.
As the leader of the Fab Five, he changed the culture of basketball forever. As a pro, he came within one game — twice — of winning two NBA championships. He is one of six players to average at least 20 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. The other five are in, or will be in the Hall of Fame.
You may not like him because of his role in the Michigan booster scandal. You can hold the infamous timeout against him, although Michigan was down by two. His career was cut short by injury, but so was Bill Walton’s. Take away your personal feelings for C-Webb and compare his career and contributions to the game of basketball to that of Elvin Hayes, Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki, and you’ll see that Chris Webber belongs in the Hall.
