Kings Legend Recalls Assuming He Will Be Traded For Three Lakers Players

KEY POINTS

Chris Webber has opened up about possibly being traded to the Lakers
Webber was instead traded to the Sacramento Kings
The five-time NBA All-Star has revealed the best team he's played for

At one point in the early years of his NBA career, Chris Webber thought he was destined to be a Laker.

In the 2000s, Webber and the Sacramento Kings were among the fiercest rivals the Los Angeles Lakers had to deal with in the Western Conference.

However, according to “C-Web” himself, things would have been completely different if one of his former teams, the Washington Bullets, granted his preferred trade destination sometime in the 90s the Lakers.

“They (The Bullets) wanted to banish me to Sacramento,” Webber recently told Jason Jones of The Athletic. “That’s what that was.”

“I thought there was going to be a trade [with the Lakers] for Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel for me,” Webber said. “I wanted to go there.”

Eventually, the Bullets completed Webber’s move to the Sacramento Kings in May 1998 after having been labeled a problem both on and off the court.

On the flip side, what was supposed to be a sort of punishment for Webber turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The dominant power forward ended up becoming the Kings talisman, a stacked team that almost made it to the NBA Finals in 2002 if it wasn’t for Robert Horry’s game-winning three-point shot in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

As for the Bullets, trading for Webber essentially cost the team a shot at drafting future NBA MVPs like Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash.

Despite being remembered for his successful stint with the Kings, Webber shockingly admitted that it was during his time with Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers where he really enjoyed playing basketball.

“A.I. [Iverson] is the best athlete that I’ve ever seen in my life. Period,” the five-time NBA All-Star told Shams Charania of The Athletic. “He’s the best player I’ve ever played with. Period. And I wish I could have got there [to Philadelphia] before — I wish I could have got there with a good knee.”

“I averaged the most points [with the Sixers],” he added. “It made me feel good and it pissed me off because I think I could’ve given him seven or eight more points. It was an honor to play with him. I think about the fans of Philly, and they get a terrible rap, but they showed me love when they shouldn’t have. They showed me at a time where they didn’t have to.”