Spud Webb

Although Webb somehow made it all look easy, he made it clear that his performance was the result of years of hard work and practice. "Most people believe that I can dunk and play in the NBA because of my God-given talent," he said. "This is only half true. I also spent countless hours training to improve my jumping ability. I must have tried dunking over 1,000 times before I actually did it. I never gave up on my goal no matter how impossible it seemed, and neither should you."

After six seasons with the Hawks, Webb was traded from Atlanta to the Sacramento Kings, where he played from 1991 until 1995, when he was traded back to the Hawks by the Kings. His second stint with the Hawks was short-lived. In February 1996 he and Hawks center Andrew Lang were traded to the Minnesota Timber-wolves in exchange for forward Christian Laettner and center Sean Rooks. After playing out the remainder of the 1995-1996 season with the Timberwolves, Webb left the NBA to play briefly in Italy. In 1998 he returned to American basketball after signing a ten-day contract with the Orlando Magic. When the Magic waived Webb, he announced his retirement from professional basketball.

Since leaving basketball Webb has kept busy by making the rounds on the professional speaking circuit. As founder and president of Spud Webb Enterprises, headquartered in central Florida, Webb speaks extensively around the country, focusing on his personal experiences in overcoming insurmountable obstacles and achieving the seemingly unachievable. As he tells audiences, "I never let my size keep me from excelling in a sport in which the odds of making it to the professional level are nearly impossible." At home near Dallas, Webb today spends most of his free time trying to perfect his golf game. In an interview with Tony Haynes, a contributing editor for N.C. State's GOPACK.com, Webb said: "I get up and go play golf just about every day. I live on the golf course. I've been bitten by the bug and am addicted to the game. It wasn't tough to leave the game of basketball because no one ever expected me to be able to play. I still have a passion for watching the game, but the only thing I miss about it is the competition and hanging out with the fellows. The competitiveness is still there to go out and take on any golf course."