Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb (born July 13, 1963) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Webb, who played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), is known for winning a

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history, being listed at tall. He is currently the president of basketball operations for the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

, the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

team for the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

Early years

Webb was born into poverty in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He was raised in a small two-bedroom home and saw basketball as an inspiration. Webb was not tall, but he used his quickness and jumping ability to outplay bigger kids. Starting in the seventh grade, Webb was told that he was too short to play basketball. He got a chance to play on his junior high team only after two players did not complete physical exam requirements in time for the first game. Webb scored 22 points in his first game. He could dunk the ball when he was tall. At

Wilmer-Hutchins High School Wilmer-Hutchins High School (nicknamed ''"The Hutch"'') is a public secondary school in Dallas, Texas (USA). A part of the Dallas Independent School District, Wilmer-Hutchins High was formerly part of the now defunct Wilmer-Hutchins Independent Sc ...

, he played on the junior varsity team and made a large impact; when he made the varsity team, he averaged 26 points per game as a senior.

College career

Midland College

Despite his impressive high school record, Webb attracted little interest from colleges. He was recruited by North Texas Basketball Coach Bill Blakeley (who would later become his agent throughout his NBA career) but received his first opportunity to play on a college basketball team at

Midland College Midland College (MC) is a public community college in Midland, Texas. It was established as an independent junior college in 1972 and held its first classes on campus in 1975. Since that time, the campus has expanded to a main campus on in Mi ...

(in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States. A small part of Midland is in Martin County. At the 2020 census, Midland's population was 132,524. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas metropolitan ...

), where he led the Chaparrals to the junior college national title in 1982. In the championship game, Midland defeated top-ranked and previously unbeaten Miami-Dade North of Florida, 93-88, in double overtime. Webb led all scorers in with 36 points, shooting 10-15 from the floor and 16-18 from the line. His performance at the tournament earned Webb a write-up in ''Sports Illustrated'' and national attention. In 1983, he was named an NJCAA All-American by the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

North Carolina State University

Webb was planning to transfer to North Texas to play for Bill Blakeley but Blakeley was fired in May 1983 and Spud prepared to go work with his Dad at Webb’s Soul Mart near Fair Park in Dallas. Coach Blakeley reached out to his friend, Tom Abatemarco, an assistant coach at North Carolina State University, and took him to watch Spud play in a summer league game at MLK Recreation Center. Abatemarco was impressed and arranged for Webb to meet head coach

Jim Valvano James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, most notably at North Carolin ...

, who offered Webb a scholarship. In college, his vertical leap was measured at . He played for NC State in the 1983–84 and 1984-85 seasons, averaging 10.4 points and 5.7 assists.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1985–1991)

Most scouts predicted that Webb would end up playing in either Europe or for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

because of his height. However, Webb was drafted in the 4th round of the

1985 NBA draft The 1985 NBA Draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the previous few years lasting up to 10 roun ...

by the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

. After the guard-loaded Pistons released Spud, his agent, Bill Blakeley arranged for a tryout with the Atlanta Hawks where Spud beat out several seasoned guards to make the opening roster.

Sacramento Kings (1991–1995)

Webb played his first six seasons with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

before he was traded to the Sacramento Kings for

Travis Mays Travis Cortez Mays (born June 19, 1968) is an American women's basketball coach and former professional player who was the women's head coach for Southern Methodist University (SMU) from 2016 until 2021. Mays was selected by the Sacramento Kings i ...

, where he had his best years statistically and played as a starter from 1992–1995. Webb posted career highs of 16.0 points and 7.1 assists per game in his first season with the Kings. He also led the NBA in free throw shooting in his last season in Sacramento, shooting 93.4 percent in 1994-95 (after shooting 81.3 percent the previous season).

Return to Atlanta (1995–1996)

In 1995, Webb was traded back to the Atlanta Hawks for

Tyrone Corbin Tyrone Kennedy Corbin (born December 31, 1962) is an American former basketball player and assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. He was first appointed the assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns, then was named the Utah Jazz’s head coach, on Fe ...

Minnesota Timberwolves (1996)

Webb played half of the 1995-96 season with the Hawks before he was traded with

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

for

Christian Laettner Christian Donald Laettner (, ; born August 17, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. His college career for the Duke Blue Devils is widely regarded as one of the best in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) his ...

and

Sean Rooks Sean Lester Rooks (September 9, 1969 – June 7, 2016) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1992 to 2004, and was an Assistant for Player Development for the Philadelphia 76ers ...

Orlando Magic (1998)

Webb finished his career after one season with the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

, ultimately retiring from professional basketball in 1997. Webb had over 50 games with 20 points or more including a career high 34 points against the Golden State Warriors on April 21, 1993 and a career high 18 assists against the Detroit Pistons on April 19, 1986. Webb played 814 games in his NBA career, averaging 9.9 points per game, and registering 8,072 points and 4,342 assists in twelve seasons. Since Webb made his NBA debut, only two players have been shorter than he was:

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is a former American basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season caree ...

and

Earl Boykins Earl Antoine Boykins (born June 2, 1976) is a former American professional basketball player. Standing at in height, he is the second-shortest player in NBA history behind Muggsy Bogues, who is tall. He was the head coach for the Douglas Cou ...

NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Webb was the shortest person to compete in the

NBA Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

, winning the event in 1986 at Dallas'

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. The venu ...

. His participation surprised the media; including his teammate and defending dunk champion

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

, who had "never seen me dunk before", Webb said. His dunks included the elevator two-handed double pump dunk, the off-the-backboard one-handed jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk, a reverse double-pump slam, and finally, the reverse two-handed strawberry jam from a lob bounce off the floor. He defeated Wilkins with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round. Atlanta coach Mike Fratello said, "Spud kind of duped him. He told Wilkins he never had anything prepared, didn't practice for it. So, Wilkins maybe thought his normal assortment would be good enough to get through". Twenty years after Webb's victory in the Slam Dunk contest, he trained

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

point guard

Nate Robinson Nathaniel Cornelius Robinson (born May 31, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Seattle, Robinson played college basketball for the University of Washington in Seattle and was the 21st pick in the 2005 NBA draft. ...

(who stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall) to win the event. Webb tossed the ball to Robinson, who leaped over Webb and dunked, earning 50 points from the judges. Robinson went on to win, making him and Spud the only two people in NBA history under six feet tall to win a slam dunk contest. The 1986 Slam Dunk victory along with his play as a rookie and fan favorite helped Webb to garner dozens of national endorsements from companies such as Pony Shoes,

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

, Church’s Fried Chicken, Baden Basketball, Hardee’s Hamburgers, Sunkist Oranges, Southland Corp and

Chips Ahoy! Chips Ahoy! is an American chocolate chip cookie brand, baked and marketed by Nabisco, a subsidiary of Mondelez International, that debuted in 1963. Chips Ahoy! cookies are available in different variations such as, original, reduced-fat, chunky, ...

Webb was a judge for the 2010 Dunk contest in Dallas, at the

American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association and the Dallas S ...

. It was the first time the event had been in Dallas since Webb's win in 1986.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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, 79 , , 8 , , 15.6 , , .483 , , .182 , , .785 , , 1.6 , , 4.3 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 0 , , 16.1 , , .438 , , .167 , , .762 , , 1.8 , , 5.1 , , 1.0 , , .1 , , 6.8 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 82 , , 1 , , 16.4 , , .475 , , .053 , , .817 , , 1.8 , , 4.1 , , .8 , , .1 , , 6.0 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

, 81 , , 6 , , 15.0 , , .459 , , .045 , , .867 , , 1.5 , , 3.5 , , .9 , , .1 , , 3.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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, 75 , , 64 , , 29.3 , , .447 , , .321 , , .868 , , 2.3 , , 5.6 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

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Playoffs

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References

External links

* *
2004 interview, "Catching Up with Spud Webb"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Spud 1963 births Living people African-American basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Italy American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Dallas Detroit Pistons draft picks Idaho Stampede (CBA) players Midland Chaps basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves players NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Orlando Magic players Point guards Sacramento Kings players Scaligera Basket Verona players United States Basketball League players

Early years

College career

Midland College

North Carolina State University

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1985–1991)

Sacramento Kings (1991–1995)

Return to Atlanta (1995–1996)

Minnesota Timberwolves (1996)

Orlando Magic (1998)

NBA Slam Dunk Contest

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links