Webber was old-school Motown and Big Sean, with hands like mitts, exceptional court vision and creativity, a refined postgame and could play light on his feet like a swingman. He’s one of the few who played against Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and Larry Bird (Bird, in a famous Dream Team scrimmage, raved about Webber), while also competing against the LeBron James era of today. “This is how they have treated Detroit, not just us as players who represented the city, but the city itself and still today,” Thomas said. He was the face of a so-called scandal that resulted in Michigan removing the banners from Webber’s time and instituting a 10-year ban - giving Webber’s detractors ammunition and perhaps, the reason for his eight-year wait before enshrinement. He wore a scowl on the floor, but could flash a charismatic smile off it. Kevin McHale, him and Laimbeer would battle so much, I would take their strength.” “The reason why I would go out to different arenas and walk in the middle of the court and go like that on the road is because of Bill Laimbeer. The Bad Boys won in '89, I was in high school,” Webber said Friday at the Hall of Fame news conference. “You have to remember, I’m a Bad Boys baby. But Webber was the prototype for a position in a changing league, belonging to the future, as much as the past, as much as the present. Plenty of guys can claim to be the best of their respective hometown, and many have flights of fancy, tales of playing like Magic Johnson in their heyday. “He’s the crown jewel out of Detroit,” he said of Webber, without hesitation.Ĭhris Webber, shown during a 2005 game, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday despite never winning a championship. Thomas and Johnson each ran summer camps that brought out all the best high school talent, which the likes of Webber, Jalen Rose, Derrick Coleman and Steve Smith - among others, attended.īut Thomas is clear about who the best homegrown talent is, out of a talent-rich city. But Chris Webber was doing it in high school and then college.” Everybody was trying to do it like Magic. “OK, Magic was doing it at 6-foot-9 in the pros. “Snatching it off the glass, bringing it up the court, no-look passes and dunking on people,” Thomas said. Thomas often took his teammates to games during off nights, and since he was well-connected in the city, he was well aware of Webber. He’s strong, I couldn’t do anything with him. “We’re riding back and Laimbeer goes, ‘Holy s***,’” Thomas told Yahoo Sports with his trademark laugh. But there’s a difference between seeing a ballplayer at Detroit Country Day beat up on teenagers and doing it against men in their 30s, champions.Įnter Bad Boy Bill Laimbeer on a court in Ann Arbor when Webber was a freshman at the University of Michigan, before the Fab Five became famous. Isiah Thomas walked into a suburban Detroit gym to see a high school prodigy he’d known about and later mentored. Webber’s game had to be fully appreciated in person, armed with a transcendent set of gifts that hadn’t been seen before or possibly since. His entrance into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame can’t be measured by accomplishments, even though there are plenty. Chris Webber never won an NBA championship or NCAA title or even had an Olympic gold medal draped around his neck during the height of American basketball dominance.
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