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Fantasy Hall of Fame Vote: Chris Webber

Author Icon for Patrick

Categorized as: Fantasy Basketball, Fantasy Hall of Fame
Posted on: June 19th, 2009

Other than KVH, I couldn’t think of a more fitting player to start off our voting for the fantasy hall of fame than Chris “Am I overrated or underrated” Webber.

The Vitals
Years Played: 15
Career Stat Line (pts/reb/ast/stl/blk): 20.7/7.0/4.2/1.5/1.5
Career VOFRP: 109.5
Career VOFRP (Game Adjusted): 80.5
Highest Fantasy Rank in a Season: 4th (1999). Was also 4th on a per game basis in 2001, but only played 54 games
Highest Fantasy Rank in a Season (on the All-Time list): 98th (again, in 1999)

chris-webber

The Case
Chris Webber is the best player the class of 2008 has to offer. He came into the NBA as the number one pick in the 93 NBA draft, won rookie of the year in 94, and averaged 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists over the course of his career. Webber was the kind of big man that I always drooled over (whoa now… what I meant was that I drafted and owned him waaaaay too many times). He could score, rebound, and block shots, but when he was at his best, he was a seven-category monster. He was also a great passer, could handle the ball, and would even knock-down the occasional three (peaking at almost 1 game in 98).

Ok, it’s time to get that monkey out of the closet. The one Greg Ostertag-size knock on Webber was the missed games: 408 over his career (not counting his “comeback” year in 2008). Over 15 years, you’d expect some injuries, but Webber and his balky knees destroyed many a fantasy team with some huge swaths of missed seasons. And in 2003, Webber had microfracture surgery on those knees. His mobility and athleticism were pretty much gone from that point forward. Overall, the problem with Webber was more than the fact that you didn’t trust him to stay healthy, but that you drafted him almost expecting him to miss a bunch of games during the season.

If you take a look at Webber’s overall VOFRP (Value Over Fantasy Replacement Player), it’s 109.5, which I’d guess ends up on the high side of the hall of fame argument. But after adjusting his VOFRP by the number of games he played in a season, it drops all the way to 80.5. Still, his game-adjusted VOFRP will end up looking really good compared to the rest of the class of 2008 and Webber was consistently a top-ten fantasy player from 1995 to 2003.

So, you call it. Is Chris Webber the first inductee into the fantasy hall of fame?

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
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  • Satten
    you know what would help these presentations a lot? A link or a display of the player's career stats. All the description in the world can't be a substitute for the actual season lines. Plus, there is less bias from the author this way..... though I do enjoy biases.
  • I like biases too :)

    But you make a great point. More objective stats and less of my opinion will make the process better. I'll get that done.
  • I think a link to career stats is enough in the way of objectivity. This is the off-season, and what is the off-season if not a time for complete and unabashed bias?
  • EJ
    Oh god no.. This guy was T-Mac before T-Mac. You always prayed some other sucker drafted him so you didn't get stuck with him while he sat out 30 games. He only played over 70 games in 6 out of 15 seasons and his injury problems were a secret to no one after just his 3rd year so he was devalued from then on. He was basically like Gilbert Arenas is this year. If he could play the full 82 he'd be first round value, but unless you were feeling crazy you wouldn't want C-Webb earlier than the 3rd round..

    I vote no for Webber. I wish I had an option to vote "Fuck No!"
  • EJ
    Also, can a brutha nominate Dikembe Mutombo who has announced his retirement? THAT is a Fantasy Basketball Hall of Famer!!
  • You'll have to wait for the class of 2009 to get your sex on with Mutombo. But as for hall of fame material, I completely agree.
  • EJ
    Another 2007-2008 retiree was Penny Hardaway. He wasn't that good in roto for very many years due to injuries, but he was a beast when he did play. I feel like he is more deserving than C-Webb because he was an animal for three years and then just fell off the wagon and you never got deceived into wasting a high pick on him because you knew he was done, whereas C-Webb was still tantalizing enough to a consider drafting.

    I can't find a list of retired players by year either, but a quick run thru basketball reference I caught SARs (Abdur-Rahim), Walker, and Damon Stoudamire also as 2007-2008 retirees. Shareef isn't HOF material but he was solid, and Walker was fantasy cancer as far as I'm concerned. I would never have drafted him under any circumstance. Stoudamire actually had some really good years for fantasy as well.
  • Ray
    Is this the hall of fame..or hall of very good?
  • I like the idea of Chris Webber being nominated to some kind of "Hall of Fame." Now whether he deserves to be in the Fantasy one, I'm not 100% convinced. I can't really call him the "T-mac, before T-mac" either. I was an Adelman Kings fan and that bias weighed heavily on my vote. I do appreciate that C-Web was one of the best passing big men in his particular epoch. Being true to the spirit of an honest to goodness Hall of Fame, I must admit that I may have let my personal bias move me to be a tad bit too generous when it came to my voting Yes. Oh well...
  • Tim
    Best of luck to you. I've got a HOF myself, and it's damn hard getting people to vote. A lot easier when it's poll questions though haha. By the way, I voted Webber in, as he was the guy the Wizards traded for Mitch Richmond (and Otis Thorpe). I'm a Kings fan, and loved Richmond, but the dude was old.
  • Yeah, Webber gets a lot of crap (some deservedly so), but the dude could play. If he doesn't get voted in, the rest of the class of 08 has no chance.

    BTW - Good luck with your HOF. I love the idea. It's now my go to place for cool sports names.
  • Tim
    Wow awesome, Glad you like it!
  • Great idea on the Fantasy Basketball HOF. Despite the injuries, I vote yes on Webber. Very few forwards could fill up a stat sheet the way he could.
  • Very few forwards could fill up a stat sheet the way he could.
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