Remembering #4

Might give the team a shot in the arm as well.

Webber is relevance.

Webber was the first crack of light on the horizon, the beginning of a new day. The first beacon of hope, before we stepped into the light and felt the warmth of the sun.

Webber is that grin. That smile that reminds you that this is a really fun game. The joy that children show when they play basketball.

Webber is pain. The pain in bad knees. The pain in a career derailed. The pain in coming up just short.

Webber is the anti-hero. The guy that people liked watching fail. Not in Sacramento, but everywhere else.

Webber is the face of the franchise. To this day, he is the player most easily associated with the Sacramento Kings. That’s why today is so right. I’m visiting Sacramento in a couple of weeks. I’m thinking it will be worth the price of a ticket just to see that #4 in the rafters.

I didn’t love Chris Webber, but I appreciated that his name gave the team national relevance. Before Chris, the only time you heard the Kings mentioned in the national media was when Ricky Berry shot himself, when Bobby Hurley almost died in a ditch behind Arco, or when Mitch Richmond was doing some unusual spectacular feat. But those times weren’t often, and with Chris, you had a magnetic star who played his best basketball for the Kings.

3 favorite moments: I love that pick that absolutely just knocked Stockton on his ass in game 2 of the ‘99 series. That was my 2nd game watching that team all year long (I was living in Pensacola then, and watching the team wasn’t really possible). It was exciting to see him just level Stockton, and from then on, the team, even if guys like J-Will wasn’t at his peak, there was the notice that we are here. The Jazz were still a good team at that time—they finished tied with the best record in the NBA that season with San Antonio, and due to a tie-breaker, they finished 3rd. It derailed any possibility of them ever reaching a finals again. Without C-Webb’s pick, that rest of the series (many fond memories of that alone), including Stockton’s heart wrenching dagger, Vlade’s clutch FT’s in game 3, 4 & 5, and Vlade’s end of regulation miss in Game 5, would have never happened. Chris was playing with a bad back, and he knocked Stockton on his ass.

Another favorite moment was the times he defended Shaq. Chris never got much credit (neither did Vlade—too many people talked about the flopping) for the fact that Shaq rarely could push Chris off the block completely, and lo & behold, the Kings were a better team because the most dominant big man (maybe ever) could be checked with 1 & 1 coverage. I’ve seen a few guys in the NBA cover Shaq 1 on 1. Rodman was 1, Duncan was 1, and Chris was 1. Rasheed Wallace had success at times, but not consistently. Chris was consistent at it. The only negative of Chris I could ever see was that his footwork was never what it should have been, but I attribute that to the constant injuries he had throughout his playing career.

My favorite “personal” moment of Chris’ was in 2003 when the Jon Barry incident happened, when Scot Pollard acted like an asshole in front of Kings nation, and Vlade Divac, who had started the whole thing to begin with, acted like Kings fans were ignorant & dumb, but Chris did something unusual. He just simply thanked the fans for getting on the joke. Many athletes don’t usually like rocking the boat, but that was perfect Chris. When all his teammates were stomping around acting like the overpaid babies they often were, Chris simply thanked the fans. Then he went off to talk to Barry with himself, and share in the pampered babydom. That was Chris Webber in a nutshell. Pampered athlete one moment; Transcendent the next. Chris Webber the package was something that is a bit difficult to quantify, and thinking back on it, is probably extremely hard to accurately assess his total impact here. Truthfully, I don’t think that can even be measured yet.

I do know that if Webber hadn’t played here, the Kings wouldn’t have gotten to the championship. Chris pouted when he came here. Then he played like an All-Star. Here. In Sactown. He wanted to leave. Then he stayed for more money. In Sactown. Does it matter? Yes, in some ways it does. Webber’s legacy will always be something that will, should, and matter greatly to this franchise’s history. I don’t know if Webber belongs in the hall of fame; I do know that his presence on the KIngs mattered a ton in a city where the Kings were already Kings; they simply ruled supreme in his presence. We all wonder what would have happened had Webb not injured his knee on that May day. I don’t. I just wonder what Webb will do next, and what headlines he generates when he does it. Hopefully Sac can be at a heart of that, but if it’s not, that’s okay too. Everybody needs a 2nd home.

Congrats on the Jersey retirement Webb.

and Congrats on getting the Jersey retired.

The scene in the video with Web giving the peace sign as he’s leaving always makes me sad :(

For posting that video. I feel the same way as Apoet about Webber walking away at the airport. I hope they show that video tonight during the ceremony. I won’t be in attendance or be able to watch, but I expect STR to give us all the details of the great night.

came from an R.E. Graswich article- I think from the Metro section of the Bee. He told a story of how while out on the town for the evening he sat down in the same restaurant as C-Webb and then fiance/girlfriend Tyra Banks. Tyra went off on a loud temper tantrum right in front of everyone while C-Webb sat there quietly taking the abuse. After the screaming and crying subsided, Webb got up and left her sitting there by herself at the table and didn’t come back. Classic- and we Sacramentans kind of felt like we were part of a Hollywood story.

It really is hard to put the memories i have of that era into words, it was just the most magical team I had ever seen in the NBA. Of course there were the usual bandwagon hoppers’ on, which soured the personal bond each fan feels for a team. But for me, the Sacramento Kings played basketball the way I imagined it to be played and C-Webb was the kind of player I imagined to play it. Pook hit the nail on the head with the Stockton screen, that was the first Kings game I watched and I was a fan from then until now. C-Webb had an attitude and a demeanor that seemed bigger than the game, every grin and scowl and Wooooo! after an alley oop gave the team an edge that few players in the history of the game can make claim to. What happens on the court is just the product of playing a game, there are ups and downs but in the end it’s the character of the players that have to win you over and to me none had the impact of C-Webb. He will always be my favorite King and probably my favorite player, If I was forced to think about it.

By the way, if you don’t already do so I suggest you tune in to NBATV every tuesday, when C-Webb and Gary Payton get to talk basketball, it is simply amazing

is the only one I have hanging on my wall in my room.

He made people take us seriously.

My personal favorite memory of C-Webb would have to be watching him versus Karl Malone and Kevin Garnett. Those were matchups for the ages.

If so, Go Kings!

If not, Go Game Thread!

was his pick on Derek Fisher.

Webber= Fire
Webber= Exciting Basketball
Webber= Chrasima
Webber= Everything we are missing so much right now.

I miss the smile, but mostly I miss the snarl.