MAD MAX COLORFUL AS EVER
T Raw, real, ridiculously raunchy, Vernon Maxwell is one of the most colorful characters in Rockets history.
He is also one of the most talented players on the organization’s all-time roster.
Twenty years after he retired from the NBA, Mad Max, as he is affectionately and appropriately called, is as popular as ever here.
The 56-year-old Gainesville, Fla., native chose to celebrate his “35th” birthday here last week, and Houston welcomed him home as if it is home, despite his playing just six of his 13 NBA seasons here. Not to mention an ugly breakup.
Maxwell currently lives in Charlotte, N.C.
Time and distance — and a collective distaste for Utah Jazz fans — not only have brought Maxwell back into favor among old-school Rockets faithful, they’ve helped build him a following among a generation of NBA lovers who never saw him play.
Many of them have no idea how special he was, or how he stood out as a driving force toward the Rockets’ first championship.
On a team with Hakeem Olajuwon, the best player on the planet at the time, and exceptional leaders in Kenny Smith and Mario Elie, the lean and vicious Maxwell was often the force that propelled the Rockets.
Almost certainly, they don’t know how wild and crazy Maxwell could be on and off the court, which made him a player coaches could love having on the team one minute and want off the team the next.
Twenty-five years later, all is forgotten, forgiven or never learned. When Mellow Max is in town, fans flock.
In interviews for “Texas
Sports Nation In-Depth” on
AT&T SportsNet Southwest, Maxwell talked about his love for Houston, his love for his children, his love of hating all things Salt Lake City, and so much more.
He even expressed a desire to be part of the Rockets organization, potentially as a mentor for players. For certain, he said he could share with them what not to do as they adjust to the instant fame and fortune a professional basketball career can bring.
He has done that with his sons Tristan, who is at Georgia Tech, and Vernon “Trey” Maxwell III, a rising high school star.
From his party days when he was in nightclubs after hours even on nights before games, to his seemingly utter disdain for following rules, to his darn near deranged approach to guarding Michael Jordan, Maxwell has many great stories to tell.
His hottest topic right now is his feeling about Salt Lake City, where he says fans regularly crossed lines of decency in heckling him.
Maxwell’s Twitter feed is a Utah-bashing stream of comments and jokes that if you didn’t know better would come across as tongue-in-cheek. That’s not the case.
It’s hilarious, but very much his real feelings.
“They gave it to me when I was playing,” Maxwell said. “They had it out for Vernon Maxwell.
“I felt like I have a platform I can use, so any day, and that’s every day that I wake up, I have something to say to Utah. I felt like I got abused, and I’m gonna abuse them as long as I have a chance to.
“Utah ... they’re just not good people out there. Mormon? Don’t fall for that. It’s a lot of devils out there.”
Maxwell, who went into the stands during a game in Portland to confront (and punch) a fan who was particularly abusive, says the NBA should ban such fans for life.
“They have to hold fans accountable,” he said. “Everybody thinks (players are) just soldiers, everything bounces off us and we’re not supposed to have feelings about what you’re doing tous.
“Ban ’em for life. You don’t want that bad apple ruining it for everyone else. They got a lot of good people (in Utah) that come to the game, but one section can make it bad for everybody else.”
Considering how he approached the game at times, Maxwell standing up for decorum is a tad bit ironic.
This is a guy who says his night before Game 3 of the 1994 NBA Finals, with the Rockets in New York, was so over the top that when he woke up the next morning, he wasn’t sure he would be able to play.
“It was rated X,” said Maxwell, who had 12 points and six rebounds in the Rockets’ 93-89 victory. “I was doing a lot of things that a professional athlete shouldn’t have been doing.”
“I hung out all night. I was bad.”
And he was bad on the floor too. Bad as in one of the few who wasn’t afraid to challenge Michael Jordan.
One year Maxwell led the NBA in 3-pointers and cussing.
One night before a game against the Chicago Bulls, in lieu of going through warmups, he stood at midcourt and cursed at Jordan every time His Airness was in range.
For some 10-15 minutes, Maxwell stood there and called Jordan a slew of names that we can’t print in a family newspaper.
“Every time he came in the layup line, I was like, ‘I’m gon’ get your ass tonight,’ ” Maxwell said. “I used to do little stuff like that, and he (was thinking) ‘this guy is crazy for real.’
“He was so good that I told myself that I needed to approach him in a way that no one had ever done.”
Um, mission accomplished. Maxwell imagines a return to Houston after Trey graduates. We’re ready for more stories. Like that time he ran late in getting to the Summit to play because he was shooting dice down the street.
Or when he and Dennis Rodman shared a split-level beach house in California.
Or when Olajuwon slapped him in the locker room at halftime for being disrespectful.
What a life.