Webber, Chris 1973–

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Chris Webber 1973–

Professional basketball player

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It is questionable whether any prominent athlete has ever seen his career experience as many ups and downs by his early twenties as Chris Webber did. A high school phenom and member of the celebrated Fab Five University of Michigan team during his college career, his first moment in the spotlight came when he made one of basketball’s most notable all-time blunders, calling a time-out his team didn’t have in the closing seconds of the National Championship Game at the end of his sophomore season. He then passed up his final two years of college eligibility to join the NBA, and enjoyed one of the greatest rookie seasons in the league’s history, labeling himself as a superstar for years to come. Before his second season would begin, however, a well-publicized rift with his coach forced a trade to another team and found Webber being identified as a crybaby. While gradually gaining back his good-guy image playing with the Washington Bullets, Webber reached his mid-twenties with a long career in front of him left to define his place in the game’s history.

Webber was born Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, March 1, 1973, in Detroit. His parents—Mayce and Doris Webber—Mayce was a factory worker in a Detroit General Motors plant, and he sometimes worked double shifts to ensure that his five children could have clothes that fit. Chris proved early to be a promising basketball talent—in one game in the eighth grade he scored 64 points and had 15 dunks. When it came time to start high school, Mayce made a decision that Chris did not like at the time, taking him out of public school and sending him to Detroit Country Day High, a private school actually located in the upscale suburb of Birmingham. “I wanted to go to Southwestern (where friend and future Michigan teammate Jalen Rose would play), but my dad wanted me to go to Country Day to make sure I got an education,” Webber told Sport magazine. “He knew I was gonna be OK in basketball.”

Webber’s high school career found him getting superstar attention before his college career even started. He led Country Day to three state championships and, as a senior, averaged 28 points and 13 rebounds a game. Such impressive statistics earned him Michigan’s Mr. Basketball and 1990-91 consensus National High School Player of the Year honors. Hundreds of colleges and universities eagerly sought Webber’s services. His desire to remain close to his family led him to pick the

At a Glance…

Born Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, March 1, 1973 in Detroit, Michigan; sonofMayceiafactory worker) and Doris Webber.Education: Attended University of Michigan, 1991-93.

Career: Professional basketball player, 1993–. Selected first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1993 NBA Entry Draft.

Selected awards: Mr. Basketball forstate of Michigan and National High School Player of the Year, 1991 ; NCAA All-Tournament Team, 1992 and 1993; NBA Rookie of Year, 1994.

Addresses: Washington Bullets, USAir Arena, Landover, Maryland, 20785.

University of Michigan.

An interesting situation awaited Webber at Michigan, one that became even more interesting late in his initial year. In addition to Webber, Michigan had recruited four other nationally-praised freshmen for the 1991-92 season: Jimmy King, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, and Jalen Rose. Midway through the season, these five young men constituted Michigan’s starting lineup, and they had enough success to earn Michigan a berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) postseason tournament. At first Michigan’s youthful starting lineup was little more than one of the footnotes to the tournament hype. Over the two weeks of the tournament, however, as Michigan won its first five games to advance to the championship game, the group became known as the Fab Five and quickly became the most famous quintet to come from Michigan since the Temptations. The ride ended with a 71-51 loss to Duke in the title game, but Michigan’s freshman class already had attained superstar status. The season was a success for Webber on an individual level, as well: he became the first freshman ever to lead the Big Ten Conference in rebounding, and made the NCAA All-Tournament Team.

The following season looked like a campaign of triumph for Webber and the Fab Five, right up until the final seconds of the final game, when it became an embarrassment Webber knew he would have to live with for the rest of his life. The Wolverines qualified for the NCAA Tournament once again, this time as major celebrities and serious contenders for the championship. They once again won their first five tournament games to advance to the National Championship. This time they hung right with North Carolina’s Tarheels in a title game that went back-and-forth all night. Michigan trailed by two points in the closing seconds. Webber managed to corral a rebound off a missed Tarheel free throw. Dribbling up court desperately, he called a time-out, apparently hoping to set up a shot to tie or win the game. The Wolverines already had used their last time-out. North Carolina made the two technical free throws and re-tained possession of the ball. Michigan lost the game, sending Webber down in history with players who had made the greatest mistakes in sports. “I don’t remember,”Sports Illustrated quoted him as saying after the game. “Just called a time-out, and we did not have a time-out. And I cost our team the game.” North Carolina coach Dean Smith pointed out that North Carolina had several fouls to give and could have fouled the Wolverines repeatedly to prevent them from getting off a shot without putting them on the free throw line. That point was lost in the days that followed the game, however, and Webber’s mistake became a national topic of discussion.

If people wondered how Webber would handle the adversity, however, they need not have worried. “I was mad for a long time after the Duke loss, but I am not mad at anybody or anything this time,” he told Sports Illustrated less than two weeks after the game. “I just have to deal with what happened. It is my responsibility. “He also found out that public sentiment can be quite supportive of public figures who receive widespread attention for prominent goofs. “You not only find out who your friends are when something like this happens,” he told Sports Illustrated, “you find out you have friends you didn’t even know about.”

Putting the time-out behind him, Webber set about making the next important decision of his life: whether to return to Michigan or join the NBA. He had gained some NBA experience~of a sort-when he served on the college all-star team that scrimmaged with the U.S. Olympic “Dream” Team in its pre-Olympic practices. “That was definitely an experience,” he told Sport.”It gave me confidence. I realized I could play on this other level.” While he wanted another crack at an NCAA championship, Webber finally decided to begin his NBA career.

Though many analysts assumed the Orlando Magic would use the first pick in the 1993 NBA Entry Draft to select Webber, they also knew Orlando would have trouble balancing their financial needs with his. Webber enjoyed the prospect of playing with Magic center Shaquille O’Neal, but the Magic traded him to the Golden State Warriors for third pick Anfernee Hardaway and three draft choices just moments after picking Webber with the first selection. The trade was much more popular in the Warriors’ home city of Oakland than it was in Orlando. After signing an eyebrow-raising 15-year, $74-million contract with a one-year out clause which no one expected to be exercised, Webber started his pro career as a Golden State Warrior.

Webber’s rookie season with the Warriors appeared to be a success on the floor by any standard. He garnered Rookie of the Year honors after becoming the first NBA rookie ever to score 1,000 points, grab 500 rebounds, get 250 assists, 150 blocks and 75 steals. He also became the youngest player ever to lead the Warriors in rebounding. He drew rave reviews from people within the Warriors organization and throughout the league. “He’s the best thing that has happened to this franchise, and to me personally, in the last dozen years, “his coach, Don Nelson, told Sports Illustrated.”He’s doing things around the basket that haven’t been seen around here in quite a while.” Los Angeles Lakers general manager Jerry West agreed, telling Sports Illustrated, ”Webber’s the best rookie in the league. (Jamal) Mashburn and Hardaway are having good years, but Webber’s clearly the best.”

Everything was not terrific in Oakland as far as Webber was concerned, however, as he made clear before his second season. To the surprise of a lot of basketball people, Webber decided to exercise the out clause in his $74-million contract, becoming a 21-year-old free agent. When Warriors officials tried to find out why Webber was unhappy, the answer came down to one name: Don Nelson. “The coach was going to have to leave, “Golden State owner Christopher Cohan told Sports Illustrated, ”That’s the bottom line. (Webber was) concrete on this issue.” Webber apparently felt that Nelson was excessively critical of him, and tried to sabotage his career by cutting back on his playing time. The rift became quite public and quite acrimonious. When the Warriors chose Nelson in the him-or-me showdown, Webber signed a new one-year, $2.08-million contract, designed to facilitate a trade to the Washington Bullets, which came in the first month of the season.

While the trade might have immediately resolved the situation, the feud between Webber and Nelson continued. When the media tried to get to the bottom of what had happened, it found different parties had different versions of the story. Webber claimed that Nelson regularly goaded him in front of his teammates, and told Esquire, ”One time I asked Coach Nelson if I could talk to him. I said, ’Coach, I know you’re trying to push my buttons a certain way, motivate me this way and that, but it’s not the right way. But here’s some things I think will work.’” He also claimed Nelson snubbed him when he attended Nelson’s fantasy camp that previous summer. Nelson said the aforementioned conversation never took place, and those present at the fantasy camp said the pair posed together for pictures for an hour. At any rate, Webber denied that he ever issued an ultimatum to the Warriors. “I never demanded they fire Coach Nelson, and I never demanded a trade,” he told Sports Illustrated.”There were things that needed to be settled, that I wish he and I could have settled like men, but unfortunately that never happened. “Nelson told Sports Illustrated, ”I don’t know what I’ve done in the past that made Chris so angry at me that he would not want to play for me. I thought I was soft on Chris. I tried to love him.”

The episode did serious damage to Webber’s reputation, though, and when Nelson resigned not long after the trade, some blamed Webber for costing him his job. Nelson sounded conciliatory, telling Esquire, ”Listen, I think it’s time to put this to rest. Chris and I both went through a very hard time because of this. We were both hurt. I think maturity had a lot to do with it, but I made errors, too.” Still, when Sports Illustrated ran a major article on the spoiled prima donna athletes who were ruining the NBA, Webber was one of those prominently featured in the story. He said the accusation was unfair. “But the players and coaches in the league know what kind of person I am,” he told Sports Illustrated.”They know I’m willing to listen to instruction. I’m not going to try to prove to anyone that I’m a good person. I’m not going to make sure I have my ear right next to (Washington) Coach (Jim) Lynam’s mouth when he tells me something just so you guys (in the media) will see it. I’m going to be myself, and the kind of person I am will become evident.”

Webber set about to change his image during his first years in Washington. If he planned to let his play do the talking, it did so quite eloquently. He led the Bullets in scoring (20.1 points per game), rebounding (9.6), steals (1.54) and minutes (38.3), and was second in assists, blocks and field goal percentage. He also reunited with Juwan Howard, his old teammate from Michigan, and the duo proved quite popular with Bullets fans. Things were starting to look up for Webber again. “My back’s against the wall,” he told Esquire.”I feel like I’ve always done well when my back’s against the wall. My mother keeps telling me that there’s got to be good times ahead, to make up for the bad times I’ve had lately.” The bad times had not receded completely into the past: in the team’s only game of the season at Golden State, Webber dislocated a shoulder, an injury that would cause him to miss 19 games.

At the end of the 1994-95 season, Webber signed a six-year, $59-million pact with the Bullets in time for the following season. The new contract was not the only positive change. He had met with Nelson over the summer and patched up their relationship. He even began to regain his image as a good guy. Furthermore, he started off the season playing excellent basketball, leading the team with 23.7 points a game. That ended after 15 games, however, when Webber dislocated the same shoulder he had hurt the previous year. His season officially ended on the first day of February, when he underwent surgery on the shoulder.

Off the floor, Webber settled into a more sedate lifestyle. During his brief stay in Oakland he had become known for throwing wild parties that would last all night; he had recorded a rap album (never released) produced by Kay-Gee of Naughty by Nature; he hung out with Money-B from Digital Underground; and he hoped to do some acting, a la Shaquille O’Neal. In Washington he concentrated on his game and kept a somewhat low profile otherwise. He may have been shy following his rough times with the media, telling Sport magazine, “The past two years is not what I expected. My character has been totally diminished.” He also may have become some- what disenchanted with the life of a celebrity. In the same interview he said, “America is strange. Once you’re in the spotlight, you find out the people you think are the good guys, most of the time they aren’t. Now when I go to the hospitals, no cameras are coming with me. I don’t want that. That’s fake. That’s what a lot of players like, but it’s not for me.”

The 1996-97 season started with a little bit of what the doctor ordered for Webber: good health. Webber suffered no major injuries, lead his team in scoring, and helped the Bullets fight for their first playoff berth in his stay there. He had not reached the level of NBA superstar yet, but he was regarded as a solid player with strong character. Hakeem Olajuwan of the Houston Rockets summed it up in Sport: ”Webber’s an excellent power forward now. Right now, he’s the perfect guy to complement a team. He may be able to carry his team in the future.” Only the future would tell.