During the Chicago Bulls‘ domination in the 1990s and in between their 3-peats, only one other team won the championship. And it was none other than the Houston Rockets in ’94 and ’95 and it’s all thanks to their center, Hakeem Olajuwon. Apart from him, there was another teammate who was not afraid to face the Bulls or Michael Jordan.
Speaking about guarding MJ, Vernon Maxwell said, “I hate guarding that motherfu****.” He would also credit Jordan for his tenacity and ability to score. And once the Bulls legend dunked on Maxwell during a game on the home court of the Rockets. While dunking, MJ had his Jumpman sneakers near the 2x NBA champion’s face. So, Maxwell went to the opposite end of the court, but MJ followed him.
At the time, he didn’t expect Jordan to come running behind him. “He came up behind me and hit me on my a**.” Maxwell was infuriated by Michael Jordan’s handy approach and he engaged in a barrage of words. And the majority of them weren’t PG-13. “Don’t put your goddamn hands on me after that bullsh**. Don’t put your motherfu****. hands-on me,” Maxwell said, via Club 520 Podcast.
The podcast guys couldn’t control their laughter once they heard the conversation and the trick MJ pulled. In terms of stats, Jordan dominated Mad Max. Michael Jordan averaged 30.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 17 games versus Vernon Maxwell, while the Florida alumni averaged 13.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17 games. However, Maxwell wasn’t done there. He would later give Michael Jordan his props and say, ” I love your game.”
Maxwell wasn’t shy of playing mind games with Michael Jordan
Even with all the respect in the world, deep down, both were competitors. Many tried physically overpowering MJ, but they failed. So, Maxwell thought of another way. He would skip his warm-up drills and practice and then he would stare at Michael Jordan when he was practicing before the game.
“When I’m out there, motherfu****, it’s gonna be a little different. What I used to do with him, I used to do sh** to this motherfu**** that nobody else would never do to him. I sat and watched that motherfu**** in the layup line. I wasn’t even laying up the ball. We’d be out there in Chicago Stadium; I’d be sitting down there at half-court just watching him.” Maxwell said on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast, 8 months ago.
Even if physicality was a failed methodology, Vernon Maxwell wouldn’t hesitate to get his hands dirty. Even the referee decided to not call fouls because he was tired of similar antics from Jordan. And MJ did not complain, thus, once again earning respect from his opponent Maxwell.
Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.
