The 1990s and early 2000s were a different breed of basketball in comparison to modern day. Not only did the league allow more physicality, but players took it upon themselves to send messages to opposing players. One of the most notorious nuisances the league has seen is Vernon Maxwell. The two-time NBA champion recalled the instance when Shaquille O’Neal threatened to knock him out in the middle of a game.
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Maxwell specialized in trash-talking throughout his 13-year NBA career. His hard-nosed mentality got under the skin of plenty of opponents across his eight different teams. He didn’t hold back regardless of how big the star he faced.
‘Mad Max’ stepped up to the plate against one of the biggest stars in the NBA, both in popularity and stature. The 6-foot-4 guard went back and forth with Shaq during his tenure with the Magic. It got to the point where the 7-foot-1 big man nearly lost his temper.
Maxwell made a guest appearance on Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson’s All The Smoke podcast. He didn’t hesitate to share the crazy story involving ‘The Big Diesel.’
“I was like, ‘Oh hey big fella, what you say to me motherf****r?'” Maxwell revealed. “And he said something like, ‘Oh, I’ll knock your a** out.”
Many people would’ve backed down from O’Neal’s threat, but not Maxwell. He proceeded to defend himself, telling O’Neal to be ready after the game — a promise he kept. Maxwell waited outside the Magic locker room once the game was over.
“I walked around outside that locker room,” Maxwell said. Thankfully, people were able to calm Maxwell and guide him back to his team. There’s only love from ‘Mad Max’s’ end toward Shaq and implores that he doesn’t want any problems.
Although he didn’t fight Shaq, that doesn’t mean Maxwell hasn’t engaged in a few brawls during his heyday. He has even fought with some legendary teammates.
Maxwell fought Gary Payton while they were teammates
Maxwell only spent one year with the Seattle Supersonics in the 1999-2000 season. It didn’t go how the team envisioned as he butt heads with the franchise’s superstar Gary Payton. The beef between the two wasn’t something small but something that still rages on to this day.
The incident occurred during a Supersonics practice. Maxwell was extremely close with rookie Shammond Williams at the time. Williams was guarding Payton full-court, being a pesky defender. Payton took exception to the hard-nosed defense and hit Williams in the face with his elbow.
Blood began to spill from Williams’ nose. As a result, Maxwell began to see red as he stormed to confront Payton. “I really wanted to hurt that boy,” Maxwell said. Hurting Payton is exactly what he did.
“I just ran in there and hit him with a bunch of motherf*****g blows. Slung him down in front of the owner and the general manager,” Maxwell revealed.
Maxwell claims he knocked out Payton. The fight is one of the most documented brawls between teammates in NBA history. The two have yet to patch things up with each other and have no plans to do so.
