Chris Webber had an amazing basketball career and was recently named to the latest class of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. But the Michigan native only played part of one year in the NBA for his hometown Detroit Pistons.
Now, it was a very exciting half a season, as he took on LeBron James for a spot in the NBA finals.
If the league still had its old territorial rights rule, Webber might never have left the state of Michigan.
At the beginning of the NBA, college basketball was far more popular. Because of that, owners wanted first dibs on their local college stars, hoping the fans who followed them in college, would also want to see them play in the NBA.
So, from 1950 to 1966, the NBA had a ‘Territorial Draft’ rule. A team could forfeit its normal first-round pick to take a player who played within 50 miles of its home arena.
One of the more interesting uses of the Territorial Draft occured when the Philadelphia Warriors got Wilt Chamberlain, even though he then played for the University of Kansas, which was a bit more than 50 miles from their arena.
Warriors owner Eddie Gottlieb’s argument was that Kansas was not near any NBA teams, so his rights should revert to high school, and Chamberlain was from Philadelphia.
His argument worked, as Chamberlain, although out of Kansas, went to Philly as a territorial pick.
The Detroit Pistons also profited from the Territorial Draft.
In 1962, the University of Detroit had a really good forward named Dave DeBusschere, who averaged 27 points and 19 rebounds his senior year.
He was also a city native, having played at Austin Catholic High School (not the one in Chesterfield, the Detroit school that closed in 1978).
The Pistons used the territorial draft to select DeBusschere. It turned out to be a smart move. DeBusschere made the All-Star team three times with Detroit, and helped the Pistons make the playoffs in 1963 and ’68 (taking the Bill Russell-led Celtics to six games that year).
He was such a heady player, DeBusschere was eventually named the player-coach for the Pistons. He was traded during the 1968-69 season to the New York Knicks, where he would help them win two NBA titles.
In 1965, the Pistons again used the Territorial Draft, this time to take University of Michigan star (and Northern High standout) Bill Buntin. He did not work out as well as DeBusschere, and only lasted a year.
If the Territorial Draft had still been around in 1993, when Chris Webber came out, the Detroit Pistons undoubtedly would have used their territorial pick on him, and Webber might have been a Piston for life.
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).
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.
Chris Webber and Detroit Pistons take on a young LeBron James
By the time Chris Webber arrived in Detroit, he was 33-years-old and in his 14th NBA season.
The Pistons fans had never been that friendly to their native son. They blamed him for an association with Michigan booster Ed Martin that led to sanctions on the university’s basketball program.
But all was now forgiven, and he was cheered wildly when he made his Pistons debut.
The remnants of the ‘Goin’ to Work’ Pistons, who had won the NBA title in 2004, were still there, although center Ben Wallace had left for Chicago before that season.
Since the number 4 had been retired for Joe Dumars, Webber chose 84 for his Detroit uniform number.
Webber was a starter but, as they say, Father Time always wins in the end. He had a lot of tread on his tires by then. Webber was not the player fans remembered . But he still averaged a decent 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in 43 games.
However, Detroit was the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs, so Webber had a chance to make his first NBA finals.
All that stood in his way was an Eastern Conference finals against a Cleveland Cavaliers team led by some young flash-in-the-pan named LeBron James (whatever happened to him?)
The Pistons took a 2-0 lead in the series but the Cavs came back to win the next two to knot the series at 2-all.
The key game was Game 5 at The Palace, which went double overtime. Webber was great, pouring in 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting. However, James scored 48 points and Cleveland pulled out the game.
The Cavs then closed it out easily at home, to win the series, 4-2.
Game 6 vs. Cleveland pretty much ended Webber’s career. His knees were giving him problems and, though he still had his remarkable skills, he was not the same player.
Webber played nine games the following season for the Warriors and called it a career. He became a TV commentator and has worked for national networks since.
Webber’s resume speaks for itself (remember, the Naismith Hall of Fame is for basketball, not just the NBA).
He led Country Day to three MHSAA championships, Michigan to the NCAA finals in both his seasons there, plus a long NBA career that included five All-Star Game appearances and career averages of 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists .
Webber has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since 1993. For a while it did not look like he would ever get in, but it was announced in mid-May, 2021 he had finally made it. The induction ceremony is scheduled for September.
Even his ex-Michigan teammate Jalen Rose congratulated Webber on his selection, burying a long-time frosty relationship.
Chris Webber only played 43 of his 831 NBA games for the Detroit Pistons. His time with them probably was not the major reason he is making it to Springfield, Massachusetts.
However, he was in Detroit a starter on a team with the best record in the Eastern Conference that reached the conference finals. So, it certainly did not hurt his chances.
But it is nice that all facets of Michigan basketball, high school, college and the pros, had some part in Chris Webber making the Hall of Fame.