Sacramento Kings All-Time Starting Five: Power Forward

The lockout-shortened 1998-1999 saw the Kings match their win total (27) from the previous season, this time in only 50 games. Webber led the NBA in rebounding, dethroning seven-time rebounding king Dennis Rodman in the process. Sacramento’s newest star also averaged 20 points and 4 assists per game, and the Kings made the playoffs for just the second time in a span of 13 seasons. 

The Kings lost in the first round of the playoffs again in 1999-2000, but Webber took another step forward in his development. Webber’s averages of 24.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game illustrated his excellence and his ability to impact the game on both ends of the court.

The “Greatest Show on Court” was born in the seminal 2000-2001 season, and the Kings became one of the best teams in the league. Webber again put up huge numbers and led the team to their first victory in a playoff series in 20 years. C-Webb finished fourth in MVP voting and made the All-NBA First Team, and the Kings began a five-year run that would prove to be both exhilarating and heartbreaking for Kings fans.

Webber signed a contract extension prior to the 2001-2002 season, and continued his All-NBA level of play. The Kings won a franchise-record (and NBA-best) 61 games that season, and went into the playoffs as a legitimate title contender. The Kings squared off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and, well, things didn’t go according to plan. Or perhaps they went exactly according to plan, depending upon who you ask. Let’s move on.

Unfortunately, that series represented the peak for both Webber and that version of the Kings. Webber suffered a major knee injury in the Kings’ second-round playoff series the following season and was never truly the same player after coming back from microfracture surgery. 

Webber returned for the latter portion (and playoffs) of the 2003-2004 season, but did not have the same athleticism, fluidity, and explosiveness that had been hallmarks of his career to that point. The Kings lost in a playoff Game 7 for the third consecutive season, and Webber was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2005, thus ending his seven-year run in Sacramento.

As a power forward, Webber was ahead of his time. Standing 6-foot-9, Webber possessed the strength, toughness, and low-block skills one would expect from a frontcourt player. However, what set Webber apart was his agility and quickness, impeccable court vision, deft touch, and brilliant passing ability. 

Webber had point guard skills in a prototypical power forward’s body, a combination that had not been seen in the NBA very often before, nor since. Chris Webber was a force in his era, would have been a menace in any previous era, and would absolutely be a star in today’s NBA. 

The best seasons of Webber’s Hall of Fame career were played in Sacramento, where he spearheaded a turning point in the Kings' history and remains beloved by fans. If you don’t like Chris Webber, I have to question whether you truly enjoy basketball.