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 (appro ...

player. A point guard, Webb played college basketball at Midland College and at North Carolina State University. He then played for four teams in the

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

(NBA) in a professional career that spanned from 1985 to 1998. Webb also played professional basketball in the United States Basketball League, in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

, and in Italy. Webb is one of the shortest players in NBA history. He is known for having won the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Webb has served as president of basketball operations for the Texas Legends, the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate of 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 Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

, since 2010.

Early years

Webb was born into poverty in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He received his nickname when he was a newborn baby in the hospital and a visitor remarked to his parents that his round head resembled the

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space progra ...

satellite. By the time he was brought home from the hospital, "Sputnik" had been shortened to "Spud." Webb 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, 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 college, 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 ...

(in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...

), 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) is the governing association of community college, state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions across 24 states ...

North Carolina State University

Webb was planning to transfer to North Texas to play for Bill Blakeley, but Blakeley was fired in May 1983. Webb 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 Webb play in a summer league game at MLK Recreation Center. Abatemarco was impressed and arranged for Webb to meet head coach Jim Valvano, 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 is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

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

1985 NBA draft The 1985–86 NBA season, 1985 NBA draft took place on June 18, 1985. It was also the first NBA draft of the "NBA draft lottery, lottery" era. It was also around this time where the league decreased the amount of rounds the draft spent, with the ...

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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. After the guard-loaded Pistons released Webb before the preseason even started, his agent, Bill Blakeley, arranged for a tryout with the Atlanta Hawks where Webb beat out several seasoned guards to make the opening roster. On March 5, 1991, Webb scored a then-career-best 32 points to lead the Hawks to a 139–127 win over the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

1986 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. The contest was conceived of and started by the American Basketball Associat ...

, winning the event in 1986 at Dallas'

Reunion Arena Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion, Dallas, Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Ass ...

. His participation surprised the media; including his teammate and defending dunk champion Dominique Wilkins, 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 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". 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 cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

, Church's Fried Chicken, Baden Basketball, Hardee's Hamburgers, Sunkist Oranges, Southland Corp and Chips Ahoy!

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

before he was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Travis Mays, where he had his best years statistically and played as a starter from 1992 to 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.

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 folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

for Christian Laettner and Sean Rooks.

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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

, ultimately retiring from professional basketball in 1998.

Career accomplishments and legacy

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, while on the Kings and a career high 18 assists against the Detroit Pistons on April 19, 1986, while on the Hawks. Webb played 814 games in his 12-year NBA career, averaging 9.9 points per game, scoring 8,072 points, and registering 4,342 assists. As of 2021, Webb is tied with Mel Hirsch for being the third-shortest player in NBA history. Only two NBA players have been shorter than he is:

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is an American former 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 care ...

and Earl Boykins.

Later endeavors

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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

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 Webb the only two people in NBA history under six feet tall to win a slam dunk contest. Webb was a judge for the 2010 Dunk contest in Dallas, held at the

American Airlines Center The American Airlines Center (AAC) is a multi-purpose List of indoor arenas, indoor arena located in the Victory Park, Dallas, Victory Park neighborhood in downtown Dallas, Texas. The arena serves as the home of the Dallas Stars of the National ...

. The 2010 dunk contest marked the first time the event had been held in Dallas since Webb's victory in 1986. In February 2010, the ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' reported that Webb had been hired as president of basketball operations by a new NBA Development League team to be based in Frisco, Texas. That team would become known as the Texas Legends. As of December 2023, Webb remains the president of basketball operations for the Legends, who compete in the

and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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, 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" ,

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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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, 51 , , 0 , , 16.0 , , .468 , , .316 , , .851 , , 1.2 , , 2.7 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.9 , - , align="left" , , align="left" ,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 26 , , 21 , , 24.8 , , .394 , , .403 , , .879 , , 1.5 , , 5.9 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , 9.4 , - , align="left" , , align="left" , Orlando , 4 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .417 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , .8 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 814 , , 429 , , 24.9 , , .452 , , .314 , , .848 , , 2.1 , , 5.3 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 9.9

Playoffs

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, 12 , , 0 , , 17.6 , , .432 , , .250 , , .919 , , 1.7 , , 4.7 , , .8 , , .0 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" ,

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References

External links

* *
2004 interview, "Catching Up with Spud Webb"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Spud 1963 births Living people 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 20th-century American sportsmen

Early years

College career

Midland College

North Carolina State University

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1985–1991)

1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Sacramento Kings (1991–1995)

Return to Atlanta (1995–1996)

Minnesota Timberwolves (1996)

Orlando Magic (1998)

Career accomplishments and legacy

Later endeavors

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links