AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Chris Webber closed his eyes, grinned and swayed as Anita Baker sang the national anthem before Game 1 of the Philadelphia-Detroit series.

“I was thinking, This is a dream come true,”‘ Webber said Monday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I’m in the playoffs near my hometown and I’m listening to Anita Baker, who is my Michael Jordan.”

The NBA playoffs have brought Webber back home to Michigan, where he’s had a lot of joy and pain.

He won state high school titles at Detroit Country Day, led Michigan’s “Fab Five” to a pair of NCAA championship games and is proud of his charitable work in the Motor City.

But he has also been vilified by some for his involvement with deceased Michigan booster Ed Martin, actions which led to federal charges against Webber and NCAA sanctions for Michigan.

Michigan had to take down the banners he helped the Wolverines earn as part of its punishment and took Webber’s name and likeness out of its media guide and basketball arena.

“All of that hurt, but I still love the University of Michigan,” Webber said.

Webber and the 76ers are back in Detroit on Tuesday night, trailing 1-0 to the Pistons in their best-of-seven series.

The Detroit native was booed when he was introduced before Saturday’s opening game, but not as loudly as he was two years ago in his previous visit.

“I don’t care if people criticize or boo me as long as they also get out of their chair to make a positive effect in their community,” he said.

Webber averaged 15.6 points with the Sixers in 21 games after they acquired him on Feb. 23 in a six-player trade with Sacramento. As a focal point of the Kings’ offense, he averaged 21.3 points this season.

“He showed a great deal of patience as we grew the team to not only be an Allen Iverson-type of team, but an Allen Iverson-Chris Webber tandem,” Sixers coach Jim O’Brien said.

Webber has been slowed by his left knee, which kept him out of much of last season following major surgery.

The 32-year-old forward has had to adjust his game, playing on the perimeter more.

“When we were in D.C. together, he was down there on that meat grinder in the blocks,” said Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace, a teammate of Webber’s in Washington nine years ago. “But he makes up for it in other ways like a crafty veteran.”

Webber showed his new style could be effective in Game 1 with 27 points, though the Pistons won 106-85.

He was 11-of-20 from the field and 3-of-5 on 3-pointers – matching his career-playoff highs behind the arc – and had three rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes.

“He’s not as quick as he used to be, but he’s still a good player,” Pistons forward Antonio McDyess said.

Since he was the No. 1 overall pick in 1993, Webber’s statistics rank among the NBA’s best.

The five-time All-Star has averaged 21.8 points and 10.1 rebounds during his career. Sacramento signed him to a seven-year, $123 million contract in the summer of 2001.

“When he’s healthy, I think he’s as good as any player in the league,” Pistons coach Larry Brown said.

The good Webber has done off the court is overlooked by some in his home state because of his involvement with the infamous booster.

Martin said he gave Webber and his family $280,000 from 1988-93, a period extending from his freshman year in high school through his sophomore season with the Wolverines. Webber was charged with lying to a grand jury about money authorities say he received from Martin.

On the eve of his federal perjury trial in 2003, he pleaded guilty to criminal contempt in a deal that is expected to allow him to avoid prison time.

He performed 150 hours of court-ordered community service last summer and has another 150 to complete this summer, said U.S. Probation Officer Philip Miller. The community service was a condition of Webber’s bond, and he is to be sentenced in August or September after he completes it.

Webber’s story would make for an interesting read, and he said a book telling his side of it already is in the works.

“I started working on the book in Sacramento and I look forward to publishing it,” he said just before boarding a plane headed to Detroit. “I’m a survivor, who has been through a lot, but I’m not complaining because I know life isn’t easy.”