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Webber retires from the NBA
By Jeremy Kahn March 27, 2008 |
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The reunion may have lasted just nine games, but at least Chris Webber made redemption with Don Nelson and the fans of the Golden State Warriors. After 15 years in the NBA, Webber announced his retirement from the league. When he was drafted back in 1993, Webber was the number one overall pick by the Orlando Magic; however he was immediately traded to the Warriors for the draft rights to Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. During that first season in the Bay Area, Webber along with current Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin, Latrell Sprewell and Billy Owens, the Warriors made it to the playoffs, where they would eventually get swept by the Phoenix Suns in three straight games. Webber would be named the NBA Rookie of the Year; however the wheels began to sputter between Webber and Nelson. It all came to a head on November 17, 1994, when Webber would be traded to the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards) in exchange for Tom Gugliotta. Webber would play in Washington until the end of the 1997-1998 season, when he would be traded to the Sacramento Kings. While playing in Sacramento, Webber would lead the Kings to the playoffs in his very first season in the California State Capital. With Webber, Jason Williams, Corliss Williamson, Doug Christie and others, the Kings would eventually make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals in 2002, where they would lose in a thrilling seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers. During the 2003 playoffs, Webber suffered a knee injury that eventually required surgery. Midway through the 2004-2005 season, Webber would be traded to the Philadelphia 76ers before heading to his hometown Detroit Pistons, where he helped the Pistons make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals; however after grabbing a quick 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, the Cavaliers, would win four consecutive games to win their first ever Eastern Conference Championship. It looked like the 14-year veteran would retire after last season, but the Warriors came calling and on January 29, he came back to where it all began. In Webber’s nine games with the Warriors, he averaged 14 minutes a game, 3.9 points, while grabbing an average of 3.6 rebounds and an average of 2.0 assists per game. Webber injured his knee against the 76ers on February 29, and attempted to play against the Portland Trail Blazers on March 2; however he left the game after halftime, in what proved to be the final game of his career. Before heading to the NBA, Webber played his high school basketball at Detroit Country Day, when he would help lead them to the 1991 Michigan State Championship. After leaving Detroit Country Day, Webber would move up U.S. 23, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the University of Michigan, where he be paired with Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King and Juwan Howard to form the best recruiting class of all-time, a group known as the Fab Five. In just two seasons playing for the Wolverines and head coach Steve Fisher, the Wolverines would make it to back-to-back National Championship Games; however in both instances, they would come up short. In 1992, the Wolverines would be defeated by the Duke Blue Devils by the final score of 71-51 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, as the Blue Devils would become the first team since the 1972-1973 UCLA Bruins to win back-to-back championships. It would be in that second National Championship game that Webber would gain notoriety. With the Wolverines trailing the North Carolina Tar Heels 73-71 with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Webber would call a timeout; however the Wolverines were out of timeouts, giving the Tar Heels two free throws and after two more free throws, the Tar Heels would go on to defeat the Wolverines at the Superdome in New Orleans by the final score of 77-71. |
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