Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, better known as Chris Webber (born March 1, 1973), is an NBA basketball player, currently playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.

College career

After graduating from Detroit Country Day School, he went to college at the University of Michigan for two years. While at Michigan, Webber led the group known as the Fab Five, which included himself, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King , and Ray Jackson . This group, all of whom entered Michigan as freshmen in the fall of 1991, took the basketball team to the NCAA finals twice. The Fab Five, sporting long, baggy shorts and black shoes, became immensely popular as they were seen as bringing a hip hop flavor to the game. Four of the Fab Five (Webber, Rose, Howard, and King) made the NBA, and three of them (Webber, Rose and Howard) are still playing today.

On April 5, 1993, at Michigan's second consecutive championship game, Webber called a time-out with 11 seconds left in the game when his team did not have any remaining, causing a technical foul that effectively clinched the game for North Carolina.

NBA career

In 1993, Webber was selected first in the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic, who immediately traded him to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Anfernee Hardaway and three future draft picks.

He had an outstanding first year, winning the Rookie of the Year award. However, because of his conflict with the coach, Don Nelson, Webber was traded his second year to the Washington Bullets. He spent three years with the Bullets (later renamed the Washington Wizards), making his first All Star team in 1997. On May 14, 1998, Webber was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe . In Sacramento Webber has been considered the best player on the team, leading them into the playoffs every year. However, he has been injured often and the team has played just as well, which makes some people question whether he is worth his high salary. Nevertheless, Webber is still considered one of the better players in the league, averaging 22.1 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game in his career. Although, in the past couple years he has been slowed down by injury.

In February 2005, Webber, along with Michael Bradley and Matt Barnes , was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for power forward Kenny Thomas, forward/center Brian Skinner , and well-known former King Corliss Williamson .

Investigation

In 2002, Webber was charged for lying to a grand jury as part of a larger investigation of misconduct in the University of Michigan's basketball department. Webber eventually pled guilty to lying about his role in a scandal in which four players, including himself, were accused of accepting a loan from a school booster while playing for the Michigan Wolverines. Due to that scandal, the Fab was removed from the NCAA record books.

External links

• ESPN Sportscentury names Chris Webber's illegal timeout at Michigan one of the biggest blunders in college basketball history