The Sactown Greatest, #11: Anthony "Spud" Webb

(This is the sixth piece in our series, The Sactown Greatest, which documents our picks for the best Kings in Sacramento history. Doug Christie was #12.)

You can't talk about Spud Webb without mentioning the fact that the man was short. Not just NBA short. We're talking run of the mill, normal human, comes up to your armpit type short. The man was 5' 7" wearing high-top shoes, but could score like he was 6' 6", toss out assists like John Stockton, and had an incredible leaping ability, winning the All-Star Game Dunk contest in 1986, back when it meant something, beating out then-teammate Dominique Wilkins with a pair of perfect 50-point scores.

For four seasons, from 1991 to 1995, Spud ran the point for the Kings at Arco, averaging double digits in scoring every year, including a career-high 16.0 PPG in the 1991-92 season, his first for the capital city. He also paced the club with a career-high 7 assists per game both that year and in the 1992-93 campaign. In subsequent seasons, he averaged between 11 and 14 points a contest to go with 6+ assists, dishing the rock to teammates including Mitch Richmond, Wayman Tisdale, and Lionel Simmons.

While Spud played well beyond his size during these years at Arco, the same couldn't be said for the Kings, who only broke the 30-win barrier once (in 1994-95), and were well-known for setting an NBA record for losing 43 consecutive road contests. As I can attest from many static-filled nights tuning into KFBK as a teenager, the Kings always found a way to come up on the losing side of the ledger by the end of the game.

Yet, despite the team's struggles, Spud came up large. It'd be easy to say that Spud did the "little things" well. Aside from his on-court flash that preceded a generation of stylish guards including Muggsy Bogues, Jason Williams and Mike Bibby,  Spud had incredible precision at the free-throw stripe, leading the league in accuracy in the 1994-95 campaign, sinking 93.4% of all attempts.

On a personal note, my most fond memory was of Spud Webb leading the Kings to an improbable victory against the much-hated Phoenix Suns and Charles Barkley on April 8, 1994 - which just so happened to be my 17th birthday. Sitting in the top row in the nosebleed section of Arco, at my first Kings game ever, the fans noisily made thunder rain down on the Suns, as Webb scored 18, dished out 13 assists, and the Kings won 104-101. (Boxscore Here) It was an experience I'll never forget, and one where Spud Webb, made a big impression on us all.