One of the best shockers in NBA history occurred in the All Star break in 1986. During that year's Slam Dunk championship, everyone was amazed to find a short 5'7" participant among the 6-footers competing for the slam dunk trophy. But their surprise resulted to endless cheers that night when that short player named Spud Webb's turn came. He ran from the court's halfway, leaped off and dunked the ball with seemingly no major effort on his part.
To add a little more spice to the night's competition, Spud was even pitted against his then Atlanta Hawks team mate Dominique Wilkins, also known as the 'Human Highlight Film'. Wilkins was the defending champion in the dunk contest so it was a very exciting affair indeed with Spud going up against a player who was considered a star player of their time.
But alas, Spud was declared the winner of that night's tournament. This was considered a really great achievement and literally one for the books. Webb set a historic record for being the shortest NBA star to join the contest and win it, beating some really great slam dunkers.
Although Spud Webb is not really well known by the current batch of NBA followers, videos of almost all NBA stars are available in many online video sharing sites. We can still watch and see how the 5 ft. 7 in. player achieved an NBA history. The Spud Webb winning dunk can be downloaded online for all to see. See how he defeated one of the game's all time greats Dominique Wilkins.
A Great Player's Humble Start
Webb's family was destitute but he knew that basketball was his best chance to change his family's life for the better. He had a great career with his alma mater Wilmer-Hutchins High School where he scored 26 points on the average!
He later attended Midland College in Texas where he showed his scoring abilities during their championship match up with Miami-Dade North of Florida. He pocketed 36 points on that game and resulted to his being mentioned in Sports Illustrated. He later moved to North Carolina State University.
Spud Webb's entrance into the NBA was without fanfare and at first seemed to have been short lived. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Detroit Pistons but the team later cut him from the roster. But the Atlanta Hawks saw his potential and invited him to tryout for them. They liked what they saw and signed him for the 1985-1986 season. He played for the Hawks for 6 years until he moved to the Sacramento Kings in the 1991-1992 season. Spud ended his stint with the Kings in 1995 and then moved from one team to another even going back once to Atlanta. He played his last NBA game as an Orlando Magic in 1998.
Spud Webb's more than a decade of professional basketball career was an awesome success story of triumph over any physical limitation. He achieved his dreams by jumping higher than his competition that night of 1986 in the NBA Slam Dunk championship.
Today, Spud Webb fills his time by trying to motivate other people into achieving what they think can't be achieved by working as a basketball speaker. Speaking out of experience, he is now urging people to push themselves into becoming their maximum potentials.
To add a little more spice to the night's competition, Spud was even pitted against his then Atlanta Hawks team mate Dominique Wilkins, also known as the 'Human Highlight Film'. Wilkins was the defending champion in the dunk contest so it was a very exciting affair indeed with Spud going up against a player who was considered a star player of their time.
But alas, Spud was declared the winner of that night's tournament. This was considered a really great achievement and literally one for the books. Webb set a historic record for being the shortest NBA star to join the contest and win it, beating some really great slam dunkers.
Although Spud Webb is not really well known by the current batch of NBA followers, videos of almost all NBA stars are available in many online video sharing sites. We can still watch and see how the 5 ft. 7 in. player achieved an NBA history. The Spud Webb winning dunk can be downloaded online for all to see. See how he defeated one of the game's all time greats Dominique Wilkins.
A Great Player's Humble Start
Webb's family was destitute but he knew that basketball was his best chance to change his family's life for the better. He had a great career with his alma mater Wilmer-Hutchins High School where he scored 26 points on the average!
He later attended Midland College in Texas where he showed his scoring abilities during their championship match up with Miami-Dade North of Florida. He pocketed 36 points on that game and resulted to his being mentioned in Sports Illustrated. He later moved to North Carolina State University.
Spud Webb's entrance into the NBA was without fanfare and at first seemed to have been short lived. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Detroit Pistons but the team later cut him from the roster. But the Atlanta Hawks saw his potential and invited him to tryout for them. They liked what they saw and signed him for the 1985-1986 season. He played for the Hawks for 6 years until he moved to the Sacramento Kings in the 1991-1992 season. Spud ended his stint with the Kings in 1995 and then moved from one team to another even going back once to Atlanta. He played his last NBA game as an Orlando Magic in 1998.
Spud Webb's more than a decade of professional basketball career was an awesome success story of triumph over any physical limitation. He achieved his dreams by jumping higher than his competition that night of 1986 in the NBA Slam Dunk championship.
Today, Spud Webb fills his time by trying to motivate other people into achieving what they think can't be achieved by working as a basketball speaker. Speaking out of experience, he is now urging people to push themselves into becoming their maximum potentials.
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