The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A giant leap for a short man
At 5-foot-7, Hawks rookie stunned the sports world by besting Dominique Wilkins in NBA dunk contest.
What he did: There once was a time when the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at the All-Star Game was one of the biggest draws in professional sports.
In 1986, in one of the biggest upsets ever in the event, the 5-foot, 7-inch Spud Webb surprised everyone when he knocked off Hawks teammate Dominique Wilkins to take the title.
What most don’t know about that night in Dallas was Wilkins thought Webb didn’t have much in his dunk repertoire. In fact, then-Hawks coach Mike Fratello said Wilkins was actually duped by Webb.
Not really the case. Webb, a rookie then and performing in front of his hometown crowd, insists he didn’t have time to practice, saying, “I was just trying to make the team.’’
But two nights after appearing on “The Johnny Carson Show,’’ Webb put on the show of his life, a group of slams that included a 360-degree helicopter elevator dunk, an elevator two-handed double pump jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk and a reverse double-pump slam.
Then, what won over the judges was a reverse, two-handed “strawberry’’ jam from a lob bounce off the floor, beating Wilkins in the final round with two perfect 50-point scores.
Sports Illustrated called it, “David slaying Goliath using two legs and a ball” and Webb will be forever connected with the event.
Webb would go on to compete in two other famous dunk contests that included the epic head-to-head battle between Wilkins and Michael Jordan in 1988 and the following year when Kenny “Sky’’ Walker outdueled Clyde Drexler.
Webb remains the shortest player ever to compete in the contest and 20 years after winning came back and let Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks, only two inches taller, jump over him in the finals to win in 2006.
With one of the best nicknames in not only basketball but all of sports, Spud’s real first name is Anthony and he could dunk a basketball in high school in Dallas when he was only 5-3.
Actually, his nickname comes from when he was born in 1963 and he was nicknamed “Sputnik’’ at the hospital after one of his father’s friends said his big head resembled the Soviet satellite that had been launched a few years earlier.
But many of Sputnik’s friends couldn’t pronounce the word and the shortened “Spud’’ was born. Webb went to Midland (Texas) College and led the junior college to a national championship in 1982, averaging 17.4 points and 8.6 assists. The following year Jim Valvano shocked the college basketball world by beating Houston and winning an NCAA title for N.C. State and began recruiting Webb, who would play for the Wolfpack for two years, playing in 66 games and averaging 10.4 points and 5.7 assists.
Webb was drafted by Detroit in the fourth round of the 1985 draft but was waived by the Pistons before the beginning of the season and was signed two days later by the Hawks.
Webb was with the Hawks for six seasons and became a local favorite, not only with his dunking ability but his allaround play. Webb played in 483 games in Atlanta and on five playoff teams, including the one that lost to Boston in the 1988 conference semifinals that went seven games.
In 1991, Webb was traded to Sacramento and there he had his best seasons, averaging 13.4, 16.0 and 14.5 points a games in 1991, ’92 and ’93, respectively, and had two seasons where he averaged more than seven assists a game. He was traded back to the Hawks after the ’95 season for Tyrone Corbin and was thought to have finished his career the next season when he was trad- ed by the Hawks with Andrew Lang to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Christian Laettner and Sean Rooks. But two years later he signed a 10-day contract with the Orlando Magic before retiring from the NBA for good.
In all, Webb played in 814 games, averaging 9.9 points and collecting 8,072 points and 4,342 assists. Since Webb, only two players shorter than him would play in the NBA: Muggsy Bogues (5-2) and Earl Boykins (5-5). And Webb has aged gracefully as evidenced by a YouTube video that surfaced of him dunking in street clothes just four years ago.
Where he lives: Webb, 51, lives in Dallas and has never been married. He has one daughter (Lauren) who is 26.
What he does now: The president of basketball operations for the Texas Legends, the D-League team for the Dallas Mavericks in Frisco. Webb plays golf two or three times a week and is an 8-handicap.
On the annual dunk contest: “I always get a lot of texts, a lot of phone calls ... everywhere you go people remember me for it. But I never watch it. People forget I played 12 years in the NBA.’’
On the slam win over Wilkins in ’ 86: “I was a rookie and I was just busting it to make the team. Dominique didn’t think I had much because he didn’t see me doing anything after practice. But I had done a lot of different dunks during the summer and in high school and college and when I went to the games for the contest they just all of a sudden all came to mind.’’
On doing the Johnny Carson show two nights before the contest: “You knew you had made it when you were on Carson. I’m not sure how all that happened and I’m sure it had to do with my size and being a rookie.’’
On playing for Valvano: “He treated you like a man. He wanted you to be successful. The energy he threw off was incredible. Funny, but I got to go to State because they had offered another player and he changed his mind so they went with me.’’
On which former Hawks players he stays in touch with: “I always hear from John Battle, we call him ‘The Reverend,’ and Cliff Levingston, Jon Koncak and Kevin Willis. When Doc Rivers comes in town, we go out and get something to eat.’’
On playing with the 7-1 Tree Rollins: “There weren’t many people in the league under 6 feet when I played. Those guys were so huge and I just had to deal with it. Tree was fun to play with, and, of course, we always took a lot of pictures together.’’
On his most memorable moment in the NBA: “That is easy. It was meeting and playing against Dr. J. He was my idol.’’
On his nickname: “When I was born one of my dad’s best friends came in and said that I had a big head like the Sputnik. And the kids in my neighborhood couldn’t say Sputnik, so they called me Spud. I always thought my name was Spud growing up until I got in trouble and my mother called me by my real name (Anthony) and the police called me by my real name.’’
On mentoring Nate Robinson in the 2006 finals: “I didn’t really do much but stand there. The PR guy for the Knicks started calling me and I told them I never go to the contest. Then his agent started calling me and told me the game is in Houston and right down the road. Nate is an incredible athlete. So we get to the finals, and he jumped over me and they almost tore the place down.’’
On the current Hawks team: “I feel like a big fan of theirs as everybody recognizes me as an Atlanta Hawk. It’s great to walk around now and a lot of people are really happy for this team. And they play like a team. It’s great to see.’’