The 75 greatest NBA players of the 2000s, ranked
By Cal Durrett
17) Chris Webber
Sacramento Kings great Chris Webber was one of the best players of the 2000s, even though his career came to a premature end. During the first six seasons of the decade, Webber was a perennial all-star.
Even making four all-star teams despite playing in a loaded Western Conference that featured the likes of Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.
He even finished fourth in MVP voting during the 2000–01 season and led the Kings to the Western Conference Finals in 2002, where they faced off against the Shaq and Kobe Lakers. That series went the distance and the Kings came up short in what might as well have been the NBA Finals, with two heavyweights battling.
Had the Kings won that series, they likely would have easily handled the New Jersey Nets en route to a championship. That legacy-altering series marked the high point for Webber and the Kings and he was eventually dealt to the Sixers.
He finished out the decade with an average of 21.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 501 games between 1999–00 and 2007–08 before retiring as a member of the Warriors. Injuries and bad luck prevented Webber from being a truly elite player all-time but he was still plenty good during the 2000s.