Chris Webber arrived with the 76ers in late 2005 amidst great expectations, expected to be the low-post threat the team never really had before to play second fiddle to Allen Iverson. It didn't quite pan out as hoped, to say the least--Webber had undergone microfracture surgery a few years earlier in Sacramento, and his prime was already squarely behind him. But despite losing his quickness and becoming a defensive liability of sorts, the man still put up numbers, perhaps none more impressive than the 20 and 20 line he put up against the Timberwolves on December 12, 2005.
Going against the Minnesota Timberwolves and star power forward Kevin Garnett--the player who arguably supplanted C-Webb as the most versatile, skilled big man in the game--Webber scored 27 points and pulled down 21 rebounds, while holding KG to 19 points on 9-22 shooting on the other end. The Sixers would need every one of his points, as well, as they were just able to squeak into overtime against the 12-6 Wolves at home, then outscoring them 5-4 in the bonus period to win the game 90-89. Webber scored the go-ahead FG in the OT, and also had two blocks on Garnett at the other end. "I'm not by any
means dead yet," said Webber.
Webber had a statistically strong '05-'06, averaging 20 and 10 for the season, but he shot only 43% from the field and had block and assist numbers well below his career averages. The Sixers missed the playoffs, and C-Web more or less sealed his fate by skipping Fan Appreciation Night (along with Allen Iverson) at the Wach at the end of the season. Midway through the '06-'07 season, he was waived, and after cameos in Detroit and Golden State, he was out of the league.
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