Chris Webber announced he was retiring from the NBA, today. I would just like to say "thank you" for the amazing plays I was fortunate to watch during your NBA and college careers.
As a Freshman at Michigan, Webber and his Fab Five teammates did the impossible, reaching the NCAA Championship game with an improbable run in the Tournament. Back then, Webber, Rose, Howard, Ray Jackson, and Jimmy King (all Freshman at the time) basically had equal billing as far as their contribution to this remarkable team. The next year, Chris took the reigns as the leader, leading them to an amazing comeback against UCLA in the Tournament, and once again, reaching the final game.
Not only were they doing the unthinkable with their basketball skills, Webber and his teammates at Michigan revolutionized the "fashion" of the game, creating a fad of wearing long, baggy shorts, which is still used by NCAA and NBA players, today. Traditionalists may scoff at this, but this group of players really changed the way the game of basketball is played. This had to be a good thing if it riled up a guy like Bill Walton, who railed against the Fab Five during their run. Yeah, I know there are no records of this team ever playing in the NCAA's do to rules violations, but we all remember.
Webber's NBA career included playoff runs with the Warriors, Bullets (Wizards), 76ers, and Pistons. But his best chance at an NBA title was with the Kings, making it to the 7th game of the Western Conference Finals. The next year,
Webber's NBA career was derailed by leg micro fracture surgery, an injury which shortened the careers of Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, Penny Hardaway, and others. Chris was injured during Kings run through the playoffs against the Mavericks, and neither he or Sacramento were ever the same. He was one of the best passing big men in NBA history, and I will missing watching him on the court. Luckily, I have some tapes of his days with the Fab Five to remind me of how great he was.
Thank you, Chris, and good luck in your future endeavors... :)
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