Chris Webber may have been passed over again for the Hall of Fame, but former college teammate Jalen Rose is confident that he will get there, writes Jason Jones of The Athletic. Rose, who hosts a talk show on ESPN, played alongside Webber for two years at Michigan as part of the groundbreaking Fab Five.
“Webb shouldn’t spend a second worrying about that — it’s going to happen,” Rose said. “And also, it’s well deserved. And it’s the basketball Hall of Fame, so he’ll get in. He should get in solely on his impact with the Fab Five because the Fab Five should be in. If you just took his high school and his pro (career), he should be in.”
Webber played 15 NBA seasons, finishing with career averages of 20.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He was named national player of the year in high school and was the top pick in the 1993 draft. However, his time at Michigan was tainted by his alleged involvement in a scandal that resulted in the Fab Five’s Final Four banners being removed.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- LeBron James is the top-ranked NBA player on Forbes’ annual list of the world’s highest-paid athletes. James had $88.2MM in combined earnings, placing him fifth on the list, which is topped by tennis star Roger Federer. Stephen Curry (No. 6) and Kevin Durant (No. 7) are the only other NBA players in the top 10.
- The FIBA World Cup 2023 board held its first planning meeting this week through video conference, according to Dario Skerletic of Sportando. The event is scheduled for August 25 to September 10, 2023, with games in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. “We were all witness to an incredible event last year in China,” said event chairman Richard Carrion. “The next FIBA Basketball World Cup will be brought to another level in 2023, taking place in Asia across three countries, and we are looking forward to the continued collaboration with these host nations.”
- The Elite Youth Basketball League is the latest event lost because of the coronavirus, writes Jeff Borzello of ESPN. Nike announced the cancellation Saturday, ending any hope that the competition, normally played in April and May, might take place later this year.
- Point guard Scott Machado, who played briefly with the Lakers last season, has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Cairns Taipans in Australia, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. However, the team issued a statement saying there’s no formal agreement in place yet with Machado, who got into four games with L.A. on a 10-day contract last March.
Weber is not a hall of famer, HS doesn’t count, the fab five underachieved, and his teams in the pros had the talent and agin underachieved. At a certain point the Hof needs to set an actual criteria as to what a hall of famer is.
I absolutely agree. He’s a great player some good stats but NOT a Hall of Famer. He never even carried his team to the finals!!
They had some great teams in Sacramento and went up against the Lakers and did show them some resistance and challenge. But the Lakers came out on top every time. That makes THEM the Hall of Famers. Shaq, Kobe, Phil Jackson. THOSE guys are Hall of Famers. The guys who DID get it done.
Then he was a coach killer. Don’t get me started on how he took the best day in my Young Warriors fan history the 1993 draft and ruined it within a year. Tim hardaway’s ACL didn’t help, but Webber put himself first above what the coach wanted. Yes Nelson didn’t handle it very well from what I hear, but the player refused to do what the coach asked for the good of the team.
I absolutely agree that Chris Webber is NOT a Hall of Famer. If he gets in I’d be disappointed in the entire process. I have nothing against the man himself. I like his game coverage, he seems like a nice guy and he’s pretty honest and forthcoming. He seems like a good dude. But his basketball playing career in the NBA comes up short.
Otherwise just let everybody in who averaged 20 and 10?
Agreed. Every good – or even great – player is not a Hall-of-Famer.
Gary: as long as the argument about the HOF hinges on stats, there can never be anything but a sliding scale for inclusion, the effect of which will be to diminish the level of achievement required for induction. Then there’s the question of which stats to measure and why not others. Otherwise it’s just a matter of your opinion versus mine, all of which is only good for a friendly argument while having a beer.
High school does count, its the basketball hall of fame not the NBA hall of fame. Some players get in for being good in Europe.
As for underachieving I suppose so but we aren’t talking about him as how his team was or how he ranks personally.
He averaged about 20+ points 10+ rebounds for multiple seasons and was a multiple times all star and all nba player. Usually that makes you a HOF.
End of the day how do you rank him? Top 100? Top 70 all time? Top 50 maybe?
There’s 180 people in the HOF, you can’t tell me there’s 180 better basketball players than Chris Webber
Chris Webber will probably get in. But he wouldn’t get my vote. As we can see, we are sliding towards the “everyone gets a trophy” plan. Grant Hill gets in, Tracy McGrady gets in, Steve Nash gets in, and so will Chris Webber.
I guess I’m not up on the criteria of the last few years. I’m kind of an old-school hard-ass. Nice guy, 20 and 10, some All Star teams, okay he gets in. Such is the case I’m leaving the committee.
I need to look at the stats and see what separates Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill from Chris Webber. I know McGrady averaged a lot more points per game but Grant Hill I don’t know. Kind of a all-around guy with high assist averages as well?
Steve Nash absolutely deserves it. Won MVP twice and lead the league in assists 5 times with 8 all stars and 7 all NBAs and ran some of the leagues best offenses for near a decade.
@Gary
T-Mac averaged less PPG than C-Webb, that is obvious. You might wanna check it yourself. C-Webb is for sure a HoF in my book, he made it to the 1st All-NBA team, that alone is enough criteria to be there… specially when he played along Nowitzki, Duncan, Garnett, Malone, Barkley…
Thumbs up Simmons I like your points though. Very valid, lot of Truth.
I do think he will make it in but it just gets annoying that borderline players like him make it in the hall of fame should be much more selective which is why I don’t think hs, college, and overseas ball should count.
Highest paid ranking all sports
Curry 7
Durant 8
Klay 28
Westbrook 12
Kawhi 43
Giannis 18
Zion 57
Lebron ?
You know what I thought you were ranking them in order and then I thought LeBron’s got to be in there in the top 57. But then I see you’ve got random ranking numbers there.
So okay, you’ve got teammates together. Steph Klay Durant but then Westbrook and Kawhi together? Giannis and Zion together?
I’m not understanding what you wrote up…, again.
So TMac a HOF but not Webber you cant be serious
Same sentiment with Grant Hill.
Michigan’s Fab5 should be in just for trendsetting with the long shorts… and for including Rose, Webber & Juwan Howard who individually may not make it. Kind of a backhanded inclusion.
Webber would have been a perfect center for GSW but I think he indicated ahead of time he wasn’t going to do it. If so, he was at least honest, which helps when dealing with arrogant.
Webber is definitely a HOF player…
His high school career and his NBA career are both huge and he was a great great player.
End of the day where would you rank Webber in all time players? Top 100? Top 70? Top 50 maybe?
Well there’s 180 people in the basketball HOF, you can’t say there’s 180 better basketball players than Webber.
Not really the question; intangibles count. I am not swayed by his slickness and handsomness; indeed for him, it’s almost an excuse, the reason why he is what he is, kind of unserious.
If Webber could build a perfect team for himself, it would-not be a title team. Is he to blame for that?– is that a category of considerstion? He is probably top 100 but I think not top 70.
Have never seen a guy chosen to the football Hall-of-Fame where it weighed heavily what he did in high school. Why would hs weigh so heavily for basketball?
Also, guys in for their overseas careers means they had some of the best careers in the history of overseas basketball. Webber, while (imo) a great player in the nba, didn’t have one of the greatest careers ever in the league. I’m not even saying he doesn’t deserve a selection. More that, if he is selected, the bar for selection is getting lower and lower. Almost feel like The Professor from AND1 is a near future HOF’er. smh