After the nightmarish end of his university studies in Michigan and the famous downtime, Chris Webber was still selected in first position by the Magic, but transferred in stride against Penny Hardaway. He had a great rookie season in the Bay with 17.5 points at 55.2%, 9.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.2 interceptions and 2.2 blocks. He was voted rookie of the year, but it didn’t work out at all with Don Nelson, and he had decided to use an option terminating his 15-year, $ 74 million contract (yes yes, 15 years!), making him a restricted free agent. He decided not to play at the start of the season, unhappy with his situation, and wanted to sign a contract which allowed him to become a free agent in the summer of 1997 in order to leave the Warriors. He was particularly unhappy with playing pivot (to play small ball) and the departure of Billy Owens, and therefore wanted to leave Oakland, and his wish was finally granted in November 1997, heading to Washington. A few hours before entering the Hall of Fame, he says he still has very good memories of this passage and seems to be rewriting history a bit.
“I loved my time at Golden State. I think the league was changing again. There was a difference back then between old fashioned coaching and what you see now. I was also part of this transition. It was fun playing a strong winger carrying the ball, but at that time the league didn’t understand Don Nelson. They didn’t understand me either and even though I won the title of Rookie of the Year, we were criticized. It’s funny now looking back. I was a part of that change and really, I have to look back to remember the backlash we took for trying to effect this change. We were part of the teams that played the fastest, and we played with Chris Mullin… (not known for its speed editor’s note) I remember following Mully, doing everything he did. I love Golden State, the Bay, and winning the title of Rookie of the Year was great. After my 18 months in Michigan, from the time I asked for this downtime, it was the worst time of my life. It was April, and within almost 50 days, I had to face this mistake, forget about it, and prepare for the NBA. I was happy with the concentration I was showing, I was not disturbed because of these bad times. I couldn’t find an excuse not to succeed the following year. So for me it is a success. It was an honor. I didn’t want to leave Golden State, but there was an option in my contract to end it after my freshman year. It was great for me financially, but that’s not necessarily what Nelly liked. I had to go play in Washington, and it was great because there was Juwan (Howard, his Michigan teammate), Tim Legler, Rod Strickland, Tracy Murray, Chris Whitney and all these guys. It has been great living in DC. ” Chris Webber
Via The Athletic
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