New Hall of Famer Chris Webber’s time with Detroit Pistons
Hall of Famer Chris Webber’s long path to eventually come back to Detroit
The Detroit Pistons had the No. 10 overall draft pick in the 1993 draft, but that was not going to come close to getting them Webber, known then as the leader of Michigan’s ‘Fab 5’.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward out of Detroit Country Day went No. 1 to the Orlando Magic, who immediately shipped him to the Golden State Warriors as part of the Anfernee Hardaway trade.
The Pistons that year ended up with guard Lindsay Hunter, a nice guard for many years, but no star.
Webber was named the 1994 Rookie of the Year, but he really came into his own when he was with the Sacramento Kings, where he would spend the better part of seven seasons (1998-2005).
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The Kings were not the mess they are now. The Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers were the kings of the Western Conference but the Kings were one of their biggest rivals.
Sacramento made the playoffs every season Webber played with them.
In 2002, the Kings held a 20-point lead over the Lakers in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Los Angeles rallied for a six-point victory.
In February, 2005, the Kings traded Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers, who were hoping pairing Webber with Allen Iverson would provide them with a powerful 1-2 punch.
As others (Jerry Stackhouse, Toni Kukoc) discovered, Iverson is tough to be paired with. In January, 2007, Webber and the 76ers came to a buyout agreement, and he became a free agent.
On January 16, Webber finally came home, as he signed with the Detroit Pistons.