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Chris Webber: “Coach Carril, who was the coach of Princeton at the time — Coach Pete Carril — came to our team, and I absolutely loved this man. He was a walking encyclopedia when it came to basketball. He gave me a book, and it was The Fast Take from the Strong. We talked about how the trend was to be so strong, but really it should be to be fast. And he was like, ‘What does that mean mentally?’ And he asked me a question: ‘What do you want to be known for?’ He said, ‘You can have the same stats here and be lost in a small town, highest tax bracket, smallest supporting fan base — or you can make something special. It’s about legacy.’ And I think we’ve heard founders here talk about being a founder and what it takes. With all that off-work balance, it really is about your legacy. What are you fighting for? When it’s something bigger than you, you give more. That’s what made our team different — we had something bigger than stats.”
Speaking on the latest episode of the All The Smoke podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Mobley reflected on his time with Yao in Houston and expressed that the 7-foot-6 center was more than just a dominant post scorer. “What people don’t understand about Yao. He could pass the ball, like Joker, he could've done that,” Mobley said. “It’s just the offense didn’t. Say we would’ve had Rick Adelman, for a fact, you would’ve seen more of Yao Ming. Like that Chris Webber, that Vlade Divac, Brad Miller type of passing. He had all of it.”
During practice, the now co-podcat host of "All the Smoke" took a shot the head coach saw as "ill-advised," and Cheeks stopped everything to call out his player in front of the whole roster. "I was going to pounce on him," Matt remembered his reaction. "Luckily, Chris [Webber] grabbed me and stopped me." Ultimately, Barnes, outspoken as ever, couldn't resist a jab. He said Cheeks' poor treatment of players left a lasting, and not positive, impact. "That's probably why he's a lifelong assistant," the 45-year-old noted, alluding to the fact that Mo hasn't held a main role on the sidelines since the 2014–15 NBA regular season.
Chris Webber: "Let me just say this—it's painful not winning a championship. It's painful. And in the culture we were in, for me not to go to a team I was playing against and try to win one—I could have gone to San Antonio, I could have gone to other teams—but at the time, I'd rather lose by myself than join the enemy, because I thought that’s the way it was. When I saw it, it was Dominique, Bird, and Isaiah doing it that way. But at the same time, if I was in this culture today, best believe I’d go play with some people I have a great relationship with and try to win one. So it’s that balance. Yeah, you should put it all on the floor. You should be crying if you don’t win that championship. But at the end of the day, we know the players we still accept without rings. You still respect them."
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Jorge Sierra: Mike Conley tied Chris Webber in playoff scoring in the game vs. OKC. He's No. 129 all-time now.
DeMar DeRozan No. 25 all-time in scoring after passing Reggie Miller
Jorge Sierra: DeMar DeRozan has passed REGGIE MILLER for No. 25 all-time in scoring. Also: Nikola Jokic moved ahead of Damon Stoudamire in assists for No. 59. He passed CHRIS WEBBER in rebounds for No. 75.
James Harden passes Elvin Hayes in scoring for No. 12 all-time
Jorge Sierra: James Harden passed Elvin Hayes in scoring last night for No. 12 all-time. Also: Rudy Gobert moved ahead of Marcus Camby in rebounds for No. 48 in NBA history. Bradley Beal ahead of fellow Wizards legend Chris Webber in scoring for No. 103.
One of Detroit's biggest sports fans is interested in joining the city's bid to land a WNBA franchise. Eminem, the 15-time Grammy-winning rapper, has had discussions about joining the high-profile investor group that already includes Pistons owner Tom Gores, Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Fab Five legend Chris Webber, former Piston Grant Hill and Denise Ilitch, among others.
Former NBA star Chris Webber, a former rival of the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant era Lakers, said on his podcast "Straight Game" that Doncic is "anti-Hollywood." “Some players like myself, we were like anti-Hollywood… We don’t want to be Hollywood, we want to come in and shut it down and have y’all walk out of here quiet. It seemed like that’s who Luka was, and now he has to like L.A.,” Webber said.
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Interestingly enough, neither this year nor 2021-22 owns the record for most All-Stars moved right at one NBA trade deadline. That distinction, per our research, still belongs to 2004-05, a trade deadline that saw 10 All-Stars get traded(!), and 34 players overall, headlined by the likes of Chris Webber and Gary Payton, two now-Hall of Famers.
Before Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks and riding a seven-game win streak, Christie was asked if any of his former teammates from his playing days have reached out to him about his then-7-1 record as interim head coach. "Mike [Bibby] popped in the other day when we were playing [the] Miami [Heat] in the morning when I was working," Christie said. "[Chris Webber] has texted me numerous times. Bobby [Jackson] has texted me numerous times. Peja [Stojakovic] and Vlade [Divac], things that I can't say, but they definitely have texted me. It's nothing but love for all those guys because without them, I'm not sitting here. "I think we all understand what I'm here to do, and I think they do. And that's probably why they text me. Because they understand it's not about me, it's more about our team first of all, but also our city and our organization, to try to do what we were so close to doing and we didn't accomplish it."
The current Cavs coach first broke into the league in 2007 as a player development assistant on Adelman’s bench for the Houston Rockets, featuring an offense led by Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. Adelman, who coached the Chris Webber Sacramento Kings as well, designed his offense around a distribution hub at the five, a star three-level playmaker at the wing and various skilled players surrounding them. Now, some of Cleveland’s plays mirror what Adelman ran in Houston. “I just always believed in cutting from the time I was with Rick Adelman in Houston,” Atkinson said. “He always preached cutting and how cutting opened up space.”
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