Before he was a basketball legend, Chris Webber grew up in a small house in west Detroit as the eldest of five children. His father worked making cars at a GM plant and his mother was a teacher. Webber loved music but hated to sing in the church choir; he loved to read but always wanted to play outside. The Webber house was full of books, records, and musical instruments, and Chris’ childhood bedroom walls were lined with NBA posters where he would fist-bump a Dominque Wilkins photo every morning before school. Webber started keeping a journal when he was a kid, and his first entries detailed his first crush on a girl who wore a bun in her hair. He’s maintained a journal ever since, from when he was a member of the Fab Five to becoming an NBA star, a father, and ultimately, the author of his first book.
Chris Webber is widely known as one of the best and most influential players in basketball history. While most people recall the teenage member from the historic Fab Five at Michigan, it was there that baggy shorts and black socks sparked a cultural revolution and legacy that was to be remembered forever. Experience the legendary journey and purchase your copy of By God's Grace.
I knew from an early age, from adults, dealing with recruitment, I felt the world was bitter and its goal was to steal your soul. Once I started feeling that way, prayer really helped.
CHRIS WEBBER
Chris and his father Mayce Webber share an emotional embrace at the 1993 NBA draft just after he was selected 1st overall by the Orlando Magic, a moment that would ultimately allow Chris perspective on his father’s impact in his life.
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Jimmy King, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, and Ray Jackson were the class of Michigan freshmen that revolutionized college basketball in a big way. Their distinctive style and friendships both on and off court were grounds for a tidal wave of culture felt by sports fans across the nation.
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Webber won the award for Mr. Basketball of Michigan by the
largest margin in the award’s history, establishing himself as the most decorated high school player in the state — and the most recruited since Magic Johnson. Webber led his team at Detroit Country Day to three MHSAA State championships, and as a senior averaged 29.4 points and 13 rebounds per game.
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From when he bought his father a Cadillac to when his twins were born, from when he was a kid playing in the streets to a teenager changing the face and style college basketball, there were plenty of standout moments that shaped Webber’s life and his outlook on the world as it happened around him. Explore the milestones and memories of his journey as he worked toward the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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Webber was the first overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, a milestone that paved the way for fifteen professional seasons with countless accolades. By God's Grace offers an unparalleled look into Webber’s story and recounts the incredible highs of his personal and professional life, along with his most devastating lows, including his infamous time-out and the years of infertility he and his wife endured before the birth of their twins. Webber’s memoir is a profoundly honest firsthand account of one man's inspiring journey and how God's grace guided him through it all. Dive into never-before-seen photos, raw personal anecdotes, and heartfelt tributes to the iconic people that supported and shaped Chris Webber's legendary career with By God's Grace.
The basketball cultures of Detroit Country Day School and the Super Friends, teams Chris played on in high school, represented a time where generalizations were disproven and great people spurred success both on the court and in Chris’s development.
Chris and Jason Williams pose together during their time as teammates on the Sacramento Kings, a duo that Sports Illustrated called “The Greatest Show on the Court.”
Chris poses with two NBA alums of the many he considered heroes, Rick Mayhorn (L) and Charles Barkley (R) during his senior year of high school.
Chris Webber’s notorious time-out call in the 1993 NCAA Championship game was a landmark moment that would shape the course of his career and adult life overall. Chris’ first-hand recount of the story that marked his college basketball career unveils a raw and true reflection of character, unrelenting grit, and resilience.
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Michigan’s Fab Five took the campus by storm in the early 1990s and impacted the collegiate basketball landscape forever. Photographed on the team’s first media day, it was unclear if the Fab Five would ever hit the court all together. Little did they know, a big storm was coming.
Webber was selected by the Orlando Magic with the first pick of the 1993 NBA draft, a life-altering moment that represented a new chapter and the beginning of his legacy. Experience the moment of magic alongside Chris as he recalls the day that would change the rest of his life.
Webber’s family played an invaluable role in his life from the time he was a boy playing with the neighborhood kids in the streets of Detroit to the man, husband, and father he is today. In celebration of Father’s day, read about how Chris’s world view in faith, loyalty, and integrity was in many ways shaped by his relationship with his father, Mayce Webber.
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Experiencing the greatness of the 1992 United States men’s Olympic basketball team (widely known in history as The Dream Team) marked Chris’s first moment in which his heroes became his opponents. Chris relives the scrimmage he played as a college student against the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Karl Malone, and several more NBA stars.
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Doris Webber can be described as someone who exudes love in every action, a lifelong educator, and an unrelenting disciplinarian in her raising of five Webberites, including her eldest, Chris. In celebration of Mother’s Day, Chris dives into his sacred relationship with his mother and how her loyalty helped guide him through life’s every twist and turn.
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Mr.Basketball
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Music has always played an integral role in Chris’s life, and the songs that kept him company during both his highest highs and lowest lows are a roadmap to his soul that can be seen on full display in By God’s Grace. Though his first experience with music happened inside the peaceful walls of his church, the journey later led him to places young Chris could have never predicted.
Webber started making beats while on the road, during what he considered “the lost hours of the night,” flexing his music production muscles most often from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. He dared to venture away from the familiar in his partnership with legendary rapper Nas, the two putting their artistic minds together to create “Blunt Ashes” and “Surviving the Times.” He also released his own rap album titled 2 Much Drama.
Music’s Profound Influence
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Dream Maker
The Chris Webber Foundation was founded in 1993 with a mission to provide positive educational and recreational opportunities to disadvantaged youth, and today the foundation works to provide literacy programs, scholarships, special events, toys, clothes, and more to families in need. Webber is closely tied to several charitable initiatives, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that he’s worked with for more than two decades.
In 2003, he was named Sacramento’s Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Wish Maker of the Year and has received the NBA’s Community Assist Award twice. Webber is still in contact today with many of the families whose children he granted wishes for.
Bringing it back home
Dream Maker
At long last, in February of 2024 the Fab Five reunited for the first time since 1993 in the place it all started: the Crisler Center at the University of Michigan. With Juwan Howard coaching this season’s Wolverines, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson sat courtside as they shared laughs and reminisced about their days as students, a truly iconic moment for every college basketball fan. The brothers were back.
The long-awaited reunion of the Fab Five means so much more than their continued legacy; it’s the culmination of every emotion felt, every decision made, and God’s Grace as the anchor in the man, husband, and father Chris Webber grew up to be.
Music’s Profound Influence
Bringing It Back Home
The award was an honor for 18-year-old Chris, who had his entire collegiate and professional career in front of him, but the Mr. Basketball honor represented the pressure that awaited him at the University of Michigan in the fall.
During their first season as Michigan Wolverines, the Fab Five spoke in a tone of voice that could not be quieted: they were not your typical class of freshmen. As they adjusted to college life, Webber and his freshman teammates were as naive as they were powerful on both the UM campus and the court. It all came to a head on February 9, 1992, with a victory against Notre Dame, marking the very first game that the Fab Five played on the court in full force.
As the quintet gained traction (and a ton of Ws), they were given the unique opportunity to practice alongside the U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team, known widely as the “Dream Team,” that included the likes of Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and more, all of whom immeasurably shaped and influenced Chris’s basketball journey from the time he was a boy hooping in the streets of Detroit.
Crash Test Dummies
Just two short months after the notorious 1993 NCAA Championship game came the NBA draft. After taking a blow to his confidence, Chris picked himself up and dusted himself off as he was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic. The emotions ran high and were felt by all, including Chris’s father, Mayce Webber, who entangled him in a bear hug so tight it knocked the air out of his lungs.
From First Overall Draft Pick to Rookie of the Year
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Little did Chris know that he’d later be awarded the honor of Rookie of the Year during his first season with the Golden State Warriors. Though his intention was to play it cool, nerves took over as he lost his grasp on the trophy and dropped it, quickly laughing it off and setting off on a journey to further create history.
Chris leaves the Golden State Warriors to start his journey in the nation’s capital as part of the Washington Bullets (later to be renamed the Washington Wizards), joining forces with Juwan Howard once again. Playing for the same team meant the two longtime friends could relive their glory days, and the world watched as the two forged more history and prolonged their legacy as the Fab Five.
Chris recalls a moment of introspection prior to the 1997 playoffs with Michael Jordan amid a cloud of cigar smoke next to Jordan’s Ferrari in a parking lot.
Going to Play with a Friend
After three years with the Bullets, including the 1995-96 season, which was plagued by an injury that limited him to just 15 games, Chris was headed for the West Coast to play for the Sacramento Kings. The place where he began building his beloved collection of African American artifacts, Washington, DC, had become a second home to the Detroit native.
Waiting Is an Action
He viewed being traded as a low point in his career and struggled to see the way forward. During this time, he sought emotional support from his mother, Doris, and the two found peace in the belief that everything happens for a reason.
Prior to the CWebb arrival, the Sacramento Kings were widely considered the little sibling of California ball, with Golden State and the Lakers pacing far ahead in their NBA relevance. The Kings were in a completely different place than the teams Chris had previously played for, and it showed in the absence of community pride.
As the Kings began to gain traction on the court, they inspired the fans in Sacramento to believe in their hometown team once again. Chris accepted his fate and dove headfirst, splashing the city with a ripple effect that changed the league’s perception of the Kings and put them on the map for the remainder of his playing career and beyond.
Changing a Culture
As Webber’s playing career came to a close in 2008, he quickly shifted into broadcasting with both NBA TV and TNT Network, where he honored the game he loved all his life and saw it through a new lens. Chris took politics and favoritism out of his commentary, and in turn appealed to active players, whose shoes he once stood in. It was a joy for him to stay close to basketball after his retirement, and fans at home watched as he made unforgettable memories on-screen and inspired a new generation of NBA players and fans through his earnest passion for the game.Chris called games alongside Marv Albert, a man who many consider to be the voice of the NBA.
Full Circle: The Player’s Commentator
He also joined Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and Ernie Johnson on Inside the NBA, one of the best sports shows to ever hit TV. Basketball fans may remember 2015’s hilarious “run through the tape” video with Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal’s infamous fall, and grateful on-screen celebrations on Chris’s 40th birthday. His commentator career came to a close just before the NBA Playoffs in 2021. Not long after, he was selected to join the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
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CHRIS WEBBER
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Webber's Kings were both highly effective on the court and highly entertaining to watch from the bleachers, earning their moniker as the Greatest Show on Court by Sports Illustrated.
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Young Webber navigates manipulation, unfamiliar pressures on road to Ann Arbor
He was the most prized high school basketball player in America. Pressures ran high as Webber navigated the college recruitment process, and there were a few key moments (and guidance from an NBA legend) that tipped the ball in favor of the Michigan Wolverines.
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Hall of Famer shares memories of the time out, the Fab Five, life lessons and more in memoir, By God's Grace
Before Michigan and before the NBA, Webber’s story begins in the cotton town of Tunica at a place once called the Abbey plantation.
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CHRIS WEBBER
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Young Webber navigates manipulation, unfamiliar pressures on road to Ann Arbor
He was the most prized high school basketball player in America. Pressures ran high as Webber navigated the college recruitment process, and there were a few key moments (and guidance from an NBA legend) that tipped the ball in favor of the Michigan Wolverines.
READ MORE
01
Hall of Famer shares memories of the time out, the Fab Five, life lessons and more in memoir, By God's Grace
Before Michigan and before the NBA, Webber’s story begins in the cotton town of Tunica at a place once called the Abbey plantation.
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Chris Webber on Sacramento: "By God's grace, I ended up right where I belonged"
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Lessons in consistency: How Chris Webber's mother inspired greatness
To become a legend it takes consistent greatness year after year. For Chris Webber, consistency was modeled to him by his mother, Doris Webber.
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Lessons in consistency: How Chris Webber's mother inspired greatness
To become a legend it takes consistent greatness year after year. For Chris Webber, consistency was modeled to him by his mother, Doris Webber.
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03
Chris Webber on Sacramento: "By God's grace, I ended up right where I belonged"
Webber's Kings were both highly effective on the court and highly entertaining to watch from the bleachers, earning their moniker as the Greatest Show on Court by Sports Illustrated.
READ MORE