Spud Webb, The Dwarf Basketball Conquer The Giants In The NBA Slam Dunk Contest February 8, 1986

Spud Webb, on February 8, 1986, became the shortest player to ever win an NBA slam dunk contest. (Photo: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

JAKARTA - Anthony Jerome Webb or popularly known as Spud Webb is a professional basketball player who played in the 1985-1998 National Basketball Association (NBA) competition. Webb became a phenomenon for being the basketball player with the shortest posture who won the slam dunk contest.

The events of Webb's victory in the ngedunk contest took place in his hometown. The event was held at the Reunion Arena, Dallas on February 8, 1986. At that time the player with a height of only 168 cm was defending the Atlanta Hawks club. Webb unexpectedly beat the contest champion the previous season, Dominique Wilkins, his club mate who has a posture of 203 cm.

Webb was born in Dallas, Texas on July 13, 1963. He aspires to be a great basketball player, even though his height is small for professional basketball players in the NBA and even in the world. But Webb was gifted, so he was able to overcome his physical constraints.

While still playing for high school competition, Webb averaged 26 points per game. That nick made him selected to be on the school team representing Texas to compete at the national level. Webb along with nine other players who entered the team, set aside 5000 candidates who took part in the selection.

Spud Webb. (Photo: NBA.com)

But once again, his small body size for a basketball player in Uncle Sam's country is an obstacle. Webb was not selected for the team for Division 1-A. But he did not give up, once again the game and great achievements he showed when defending the Midland Junior College Texas team in the 1982 national competition.

Webb's brilliant game caught the attention of the University of North Carolina team coach, Jim Valvano, who eventually recruited him. As a student, Webb defended the university in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competitions for two years.

Successfully Entered the NBA

Graduating from university, Webb still hasn't had a chance to enter the NBA draft. Again, he did not give up, and chose to continue playing in the US Basketball League (USBL), which is below the level of the NBA.

Many basketball observers predict that Webb will not be selected for the NBA because of his size. Webb is expected to only sell in European basketball competitions, or stick around defending the Harlem Globetrotters basketball circus team. But all the predictions were wrong.

The Atlanta Hawk club was apparently interested in recruiting Webb. He served as point guard, and played six seasons for the Hawks from 1985-1991. The peak of Webb's achievements, of course, was when he won the 1986 slam dunk contest.

Spud Webb with one of the tallest basketball players in the NBA, the late Manute Bol. (Photo: Facebook/NBAIndia)

Despite his short stature, Webb was able to jump very high. The jump was once measured, and shows a height of 1.1 meters. Webb's participation in the ngedunk contest certainly took everyone by surprise.

Unexpectedly Webb was able to jump so high. Perform various variations of nombok, such as: 360 degree helicopter one handed dunk, double-pump slam, two handed strawberry jam, and others. Sports Illustrated magazine published November 29, 1982 once praised Webb by publishing an article entitled He's Bigger Than He Looks. Even though at that time Webb had not played in the NBA.

“Everyone on the team, including Dominique, had never seen me dunk. So don't be surprised if they are surprised," Webb said in an interview with ESPN.

After retiring as a player in the NBA in 1998 after playing for the Orlando Magic, Webb continued to take part in basketball. Now he is President of the NBA G League, or a small-scale basketball league under the management of the NBA. Spud Webb is an inspiration to everyone. Only with strong determination, all obstacles can be overcome to achieve the ideals.