Chris Webber
Teams
Golden State Warriors - 1993-94, 2008
Washington Bullets/Wizards - 1994-98
Sacramento Kings - 1998-05
Philadelphia 76ers - 2005-07
Detroit Pistons - 2007
Playoffs
Appearances - 10 (1994,1997,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2007)
Conference Finals - 2 (2002,2007)
NBA Finals - 0
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1994
All-NBA First Team - 1 (2001)
All-NBA Second Team - 3 (1999,2000,2001,2002,2003)
All-NBA Third Team - 1 (1999,2000,2002,2003)
Hall of Fame - 2021
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Points Per Game - #55
Total Blocks - #62
Blocks Per Game - #62
Rebounds Per Game - #69
Total Rebounds - #79
Total Points - #99
Total Steals - #100
League Leads
Rebounds Per Game (#1-1999, #5-2000)
Total Rebounds (#4-1999)
Field Goal Percentage (#4-1994)
Chris Webber was a huge star at Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to the championship game in both of his college seasons, including the first-ever team to reach the title game with 5 freshmen as starters, so it was no surprise when he was the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft in 1993 by the Orlando Magic.
Webber was traded on draft day to Golden State in exchange for Penny Hardaway and 3 draft picks, and he cruised to the Rookie of the Year award, averaging 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds and leading the Warriors to the playoffs despite Tim Hardaway missing the season with a knee injury. He didn't get along with his coach, though, so he exercised an escape clause in his contract, and the Warriors were forced to trade him away to the Washington Bullets.
Webber would be limited by injuries to only 69 games over his first two seasons in Washington, but he still averaged over 20 points per game when he played. When he finally played a full season in 1996-97, he put up 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and made his first All-Star team while leading the Bullets to the playoffs for the first time in 9 years, where they were swept by the Bulls.
He played one more season in Washington, and still put up good numbers, but the Wizards decided to part ways with their star, trading him to the Sacramento Kings, another team that rarely made the playoffs. In his first season with the Kings, he averaged 20 points and a league-leading 13 rebounds per game, and led the Kings to only their third playoff berth since their move to California.
The next few years were the peak of Webber's career. After putting up 24.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in 2000, he pushed those up to 27.1 points and 11.1 rebounds in 2001, when he earned his only berth on the All-NBA First Team, and won a playoff series for the first time in his career, but they lost to the Lakers for the second year in a row.
He missed some time the next year, but still scored 24.5 points per game and 10.1 rebounds, and was healthy when the playoffs rolled around. They rolled through the first two rounds to face the Lakers once again, this time in the Conference Finals, and they ended up losing after a very controversial Game 6 where the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the 4th quarter alone.
Webber was still great the next season, averaging 23 points and 10.5 rebounds, and the Kings looked primed for another deep playoff run until Webber went down with a career-threatening knee injury early in the second round. That injury would cause him to miss the remainder of the series, which they lost, as well as most of the next season.
After another second-round exit the following season after returning from the injury, Sacramento traded Webber to Philadelphia midway through the 2004-05 season. It was the first time in his career that he wasn't the main scoring option, since he was now playing with Allen Iverson, and things even though he still averaged over 20 points per game in his first full season with the 76ers, the two sides agreed to a buyout of his contract less than two years into his stint there.
He would sign with his hometown Detroit Pistons to finish the season, and was able to help the team reach the Conference Finals again, though by this time he was just a role player, and they fell short of the Finals, preventing Webber from ever reaching the ultimate series. He made a brief comeback with Golden State late in the next season, but was released less than 2 months later, at which time he officially retired.
Webber was never quite able to win the ultimate prize during his career, though it can be argued that the opportunity was stolen from him, but he did average at least 20 points per game 10 different times, and had over 10 rebounds per game in 5 of those seasons as well. He lifted the Kings from the basement to title contenders, and was voted into the Hall of Fame this year, just more proof that he belongs here on this list of the best players of all time.
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