Former Sixer Chris Webber will go into Hall of Fame after eight-year wait

Chris Webber is finally going into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The former 76er was announced as a member of the Class of 2021 on Sunday. This comes eight years after becoming eligible for induction in 2013.

He’ll be enshrined in Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 11 along with players Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Yolanda Griffith, and Lauren Jackson; and coaches Bill Russell (already in the Hall as a player), Rick Adelman, and Villanova’s Jay Wright.

Webber averaged 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 837 career games, including 827 starts, in 15 seasons. He spent 2 ½ seasons with the Sixers before being waived on Jan. 11, 2007. Webber averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 114 games as a Sixer.

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After two seasons at the University of Michigan, Webber was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic in the 1993 NBA draft and then traded to the Golden State Warriors.

After being named Rookie of the Year in 1994, Webber was traded to the Washington Bullets. He went on to play for the Sacramento Kings, the Sixers and the Pistons before ending his career back at Golden State.

Webber was a five-time All-Star, a five-time All-NBA selection and the 1998-99 rebounding champion. Four of his All-Star selections came as a King.

It was “Take The Game Off Night” for the Sixers’ starters.

Sixers starters Danny Green, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, Seth Curry, and Ben Simmons, along with reserve Matisse Thybulle missed Sunday’s season finale against the Orlando Magic at the Wells Fargo Center.

This marked the fourth game that Thybulle missed with a bruised left hand. Green (left hip recovery), Harris (right knee recovery), Embiid (non-COVID-19 illness), Curry (right hip recovery), and Simmons (back stiffness) all have listed reasons for not playing. However, their absences was more about precaution and rest during a season-ending game with no implications.

The Sixers (48-23 heading into the game) clinched the Eastern Conference’s No.1 seed after Friday’s 122-97 victory over the Magic (21-50).

Furkan Korkmaz (sprained right ankle) and Shake Milton (right knee soreness) played Sunday night.

Meanwhile, former Sixers Michael Carter-Williams (out since April 14; left ankle sprain), Markelle Fultz (out since Jan. 8; torn ACL left knee), and James Ennis III (hasn’t played since April 30; sore right calf) are among the sidelined Orlando players. Jonathan Isaac (out all season; left knee recovery), Chuma Okeke (hasn’t played since April 28; left ankle sprain), Otto Porter Jr. (out since April 1; left foot pain), Wendell Carter Jr. (left eye abrasion) and Terrence Ross (last played April 16; back spasms) are the others.

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Simmons is the only player in the league with at least 800 points, 400 assists, and 400 rebounds while playing less than 2,000 minutes.

The Sixers’ point guard finished the season with 829 points, 401 assists, and 417 rebounds in 1,817 minutes played.