Anthony Jerome "Spud" Webb

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Everyone has a hero, whether it’s someone they know or someone famous. A hero to me is someone who can persevere through anything life throws at them. A hero is someone who can make a difference and show you that you can accomplish anything if you try and work hard. I chose Anthony “Spud” Webb. He is important because of how he showed that size doesn’t matter and you can do whatever you want with hard work. I chose him because he was constantly told he couldn’t play because of his size but he still made it to the NBA and because of him winning the slam dunk contest at only 5 foot 7 inches tall.

Anthony Jerome “Spud” Webb was born in Dallas, Texas on July 13, 1963. He is known for being one of the smallest players in NBA history and for winning the slam dunk contest. He is only 5 foot 7 inches tall. He was only 4 foot 11 inches when he first dunked. He was constantly put down because of his size. He was told that he couldn’t play because of his size.

Spud Webb was told that he couldn’t play on his high school team. Even after that he didn’t give up. He got his coach to put him in and scored 20 points in his first game. He averaged 26 points in his senior year of high school. He was picked as one of ten players to be on the all-state team.

Spud wasn’t recruited by any division 1-A colleges either, but he still didn’t give up. He went to Midland Junior College and led his team to the Junior College National Championship. He was then picked up by NC State. He was given a scholarship to play. He later led them to the Sweet 16.

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Even with Spud’s amazing college career, he wasn’t drafted into the NBA because of his size. After that, he still didn’t give up. He went to play in the United States Basketball League. Finally, after a lot of hard work, he achieved his life-long dream and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the fourth round of the 1985 draft. Just as he thought he had risen above everything he was cut by the Pistons. He was later given an opportunity to try out for the Atlanta Hawks. He made the team and went on to play in several playoff series, average 10 points and 5 assists per game, and win a Slam Dunk contest. Spud retired in 1997.

I chose Spud Webb as my hero because of his perservance through everything and for not giving up when he was put down because of his size.