Tim Hardaway Says He Could Have Prevented Chris Webber From Leaving Golden State

Ray Richardson | Nov 19, 2024

April 11, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; TNT sportscasters Reggie Miller (left), Chris Webber (center), and Steve Kerr (right) during the second quarter between the Golden State Warriors and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Oracle Arena. The City Thunder defeated the Warriors 116-97. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

If not for an untimely knee injury, it’s possible the infamous feud between Chris Webber and Don Nelson would have been squashed and Webber wouldn’t have been traded by the Golden State Warriors.

Hall Of Fame guard Tim Hardaway believes if he hadn’t torn his ACL in training camp before the 1993-94 season, he would have made sure Webber and Nelson got along.

“I could have bridged the gap between Nellie and Webb and made Webb understand how cool Nellie was and how he was trying to take Webb’s game to another level,” Hardaway said on the ‘All The Smoke’ podcast hosted by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

Hardaway, a three-time NBA All-Star, was preparing for his fifth season with the Warriors when he sustained his injury on Oct. 21, 1993. It occurred on the same day the Warriors and Webber agreed on contract terms after a draft-day trade with Orlando in June.

Hardaway and Webber never got the chance to play together. While Hardaway was rehabbing throughout the season, tensions grew between Webber and Nelson with little hope of a resolution. 

  Hardaway had become one of the NBA’s best point guards and had developed a good relationship with Nelson. Nelson had put the Warriors’ offense in Hardaway’s hands. Hardaway believes his influence with Nelson could have been the difference to mediate the disputes.

“I was at practice sometimes, but I didn’t know how it was,” Hardaway said of the rift between Webber and Nelson. “I was doing my thing rehabbing. (Chris Mullin) ‘Mully’ talked to me one day and told me it was time to come around more.”

By then, it was too late. Webber’s mind was made up that he wanted out of Golden State

Webber was voted NBA Rookie of the Year and the Warriors won 50 games to reach the playoffs after a one-year absence, but he wasn’t happy with Nelson’s coaching style. Nelson insisted on making Webber primarily a post player.

Webber exercised a clause in his contract to make him a restricted free agent after his first season. He sat out the following season until the Warriors traded him on Nov. 17, 1994 – a trade Hardaway believes he could have prevented.

Ray Richardson is a contributor to Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at RayRich55@gmail.com.

Follow our updates on Facebook

X: @BackInTheDayNBA