Spud Webb
From Hoopedia
| Spud Webb |
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| Position(s) Point Guard |
| Height 5 ft 7 |
| Weight 133 lbs |
Born July 13, 1963  Dallas, Texas
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| College North Carolina State |
| Pro Career |
| Years 1985-1998 |
| Teams Atlanta Hawks 1985-91,1995-96 Sacramento Kings 1991-95 Minnesota Timberwolves 1996 Orlando Magic 1998 |
| Drafted 87th overall in 1985 by the Detroit Pistons |
Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the NBA at Point Guard and the winner of the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest as well as being the shortest player to compete in a NBA Slam Dunk Contest at 5 feet 7 inches.
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Career
Webb did not play much on the team at Wilmer Hutchins High School until his senior year because "the coaches were giving the guys who were seniors the chance to play."1 However, he did learn to dunk during the summer before his senior year.
After graduating from high school, he was not recruited by most colleges mainly due to his size. Finally he attended Midland Junior College (in Midland, Texas) where he led his team to the junior college national title in 1982.
Webb attracted the attention of Tom Abatemarco, an assistant coach at North Carolina State University, who arranged for Webb to meet head coach Jim Valvano, who offered Webb a scholarship. In two years at N.C. State, Spud averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 assists per game.
He was then drafted in the 4th round of the 1985 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. His first six seasons were played with the Atlanta Hawks, but he had his best years statistically with the Sacramento Kings, where he played as a starter from 1992-1995. He then split a season between the Atlanta Hawks and the Minnesota Timberwolves before finishing his career after one season with the Orlando Magic and retiring from basketball in 1998. He averaged 9.9 points per game in 12 seasons.
Webb lives in Dallas, where he appears on pre-game and post-game shows for the Dallas Mavericks on a local TV station.
Webb is tied with Greg Grant and Keith Jennings at 5'7", as the third-shortest players in NBA history. Only Earl Boykins (5'5") and Muggsy Bogues (5'3") are shorter.
On January 4, 2009 Spud Webb was a guest on The NBA Breakdown and talked about his playing days, the legendary dunk contest final showdown between himself and Dominique Wilkins and the current Atlanta Hawks team.
1986 NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest
Webb, the shortest person to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, won the event in 1986. His participation surprised teammate and defending dunk champion Dominique Wilkins, who had "never seen me dunk before," Webb said. His dunks included the elevator two-handed double pump dunk, the one-handed off the backboard one-handed jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk, a 180-degree reverse double-pump slam, and finally, the 180-degree reverse two-handed strawberry jam from a lob bounce off the floor. He beat Wilkins with two perfect 150-point scores in the final round. Atlanta coach Mike Fratello said, "Spud kind of duped him. He told Nique he never had anything prepared, didn't practice for it. So, Nique maybe thought his normal assortment would be good enough to get through."
Trivia
- Twenty years after Webb's victory in the Slam Dunk contest, he helped 5'9" New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson win the event. Webb tossed the ball to Robinson, who leaped over Webb and dunked, earning 50 points. Robinson went on to victory, making him the first player under six feet to win since Webb.
- "Spud" is a shortened form of "Sputnik", a nickname given to Webb as a baby by his grandmother.
- LeBron James considers Spud Webb to be one of his favorite slam-dunkers of all time.
