Jalen Rose and Chris Webber Beef: Everything You Need to Know About Fab 5

Chris Webber’s reunion with Jalen Rose was a memorable moment for the fans. When Webber was announced for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2021, he had an emotional interaction with his fellow Fab Five member, Jalen Rose, live on television. Their heartwarming reconciliation saw the end of years of bitter feuding. The feud between the former college teammates who had once created wonders together in college was heartbreaking.

Both were part of the Fab Five at the University of Michigan, which shook the basketball community and led the team to the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships in 1992 and 1993. Following this, the two enjoyed incredible NBA careers. However, one incident caused chaos between the two best friends.

NCAA revoked Chris Webber’s All-American honors after his scandal

In 2003, Webber pleaded guilty to his involvement in the University of Michigan booster scandal and lying to a grand jury. He confessed to taking loans from the booster Eddie L. Martin in 1994. Subsequently, the 5×NBA All-Star was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and complete 300 hours of community service.

Following this, the NCAA decided to revoke all the wins from Webber’s playing days with the team. The banners commemorating the Final Four were also taken down from Michigan’s Crisler Center. The other members of the Fab Five, including Rose, were upset about this. It was the beginning of the rift between Rose and Webber, leading to several disagreements.

In 2011, Chris Webber did not appear in ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary on the Fab Five. Later, during a conversation on The Dan Patrick Show, he explained that he chose not to participate because he felt that one of the members of the Fab Five, which many believed to be Rose, tried to make himself appear more important than the others. Webber also mentioned that he was not approached until the last minute of the filming.

“My whole thing has been it’s always been about us five. And so when one guy has a million highlights in there of himself like he was the leading scorer, like when the stories are all after and embellished it’s just a little hard for me. But I think it was entertaining, there was a lot of truth in it,” Webber said.

This led to Rose publicly calling out Webber for his claims. “One dude clearly is delusional and still in denial. Congrats on your amazing success! Respect had no price. Man up,” Rose said. For several years, the feud continued quietly between the two until 2021 when Webber was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.

Reunion of the Fab Five 

“I love you, my brother. Congratulations. You made it to the Hall of Fame! We played on the SuperFriends together…We were 13 years old,” Rose said on Live TV to congratulate his once best friend. It was a pleasant surprise to many and the support was also reciprocated by Webber. 

The hope for a reunion of the Fab Five was kindled earlier in January 2024 when Chris Webber and Jalen Rose, along with Ray Jackson and Jimmy King, came together to support Juwan Howard as they attended the game between Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State. Howard, a 2x NBA champion who spent 19 years in the league, was the coach of the Wolverines at that time and had gone through a health scare before that game.

While Chris Webber was the first Wolverine to enter the NBA in 1993, he was followed by Jalen Rose the next year. Jimmy King was picked in the 1995 draft and after playing for several years in the NBA, he joined the CBA and won a championship in 1998. He was named both Texas Mr. Basketball and McDonald’s All-American. Ray Jackson, the other member of the Fab Five, boasts the 1996 CBA Rookie of the Year honor, but he never played in the NBA. 

While Rose and Webber had their arguments, all the Fab Five members gathered to support their teammate Howard. Probably because of such strong camaraderie, the University of Michigan was arguably the most impactful team in college basketball history.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.