Duration of Stay: A total of nine games
To be clear, this does not refer to Chris Webber’s initial tenure with the Golden State Warriors—the period that culminated in a trade after the newly crowned Rookie of the Year clashed with head coach Don Nelson and threatened to use the opt-out clause in his contract. (Indeed, his rookie agreement permitted him to opt out after just his opening season. The early 1990s certainly featured some unusual contract structures.)
Rather, we are focusing on C-Webb’s subsequent return, which took place during the twilight of his playing days.
During the 2007-08 campaign, the Warriors attempted to build on the momentum of the “We Believe” roster that had stunned the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the previous postseason. While that 2006-07 squad squeaked into the playoffs and defeated Dallas with only 42 regular-season victories, the squad Webber joined for the following season managed 48 wins yet failed to qualify for the postseason at all.
Webber played a minimal role in this frustratingly successful season, contributing averages of just 3.9 points and 3.6 assists over 14 minutes of action per contest.
Events with a Longer Duration: The playoff run from 2006-07, which went on for 11 games.
Subsequent Outcome: He retired.
Webber chose to retire after completing his professional journey right where it began in the Bay Area. Although he expressed “pride and humility” about his return, Nelson was far less interested in playing nice when addressing his reunion with the big man.
Consider this statement from the media session held before Webber was officially reintroduced, as reported by Tim Kawakami, who was writing for the San Jose Mercury News at the time:
“To be fair, this wasn’t the sole location where he experienced issues. Consequently, I believe he had to resolve those matters on his own. Had I been aware, I would have pursued an alternative route—perhaps by keeping our original pick instead of trading up (from number three to number one back in the 1993 draft). We probably could have landed the identical player at the third spot. However, during that period, we desperately needed a single prominent frontcourt piece to complete our roster. Ultimately, that plan fell through. If given the chance to do things over, would I? Absolutely, I would have changed my approach and selected a different player entirely.”
