Vernon Maxwell spent 13 seasons in the NBA, but his best years were in Houston, where he became a fan favorite as a true 3-and-D wing for a Rockets team that won two titles during Michael Jordan’s first retirement.
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Renowned for his defensive instincts, Maxwell was often tasked with guarding his opponent’s top player. He was very successful in this tall task and developed quite the ego regarding his defensive repertoire, even believing he could contain Magic Johnson in his prime.
Back in March, Magic appeared on Byron Scott’s Fast Break, where he and his fellow Lakers legend reminisced on Maxwell’s ill-fated confidence. The pair of former guards laughed while discussing the two-time champion’s boastful words before proceeding to get torched by Magic.
Maxwell sounded off on the Hall of Famer immediately following his jabs, but decided to set the record straight during his own recent appearance on Scott’s show. Maxwell explained why his words came back to bite him after recalling how Magic mocked his gloats.
“I saw the clip with you, Magic. Y’all was talking,” Maxwell said to Scott. “‘Hey, Buck.’ That’s what you all call him. ‘Hey Buck, you remember when old Max was talking about, ‘Oh, I got him. I got him. I don’t need no d*mn help, Dream. Y’all stay up there, I got him. Y’all leave me alone, I got this motherf***er.'”
Maxwell was confident he could handle Magic, even with his size disadvantage, because he believed that he had full knowledge of five-time champion’s skill set. He wasn’t ready for Magic’s center-like post moves that he picked up one summer. Maxwell could keep up with Magic on the perimeter, but he had no chance of stopping him down low.
“And then all that summer I didn’t know, this what I had heard and found out, that this motherf***er was working with Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] on the d*mn hook shot,” Maxwell admitted. “I said, ‘Good God, this motherf***er done put another dimension to his game.’ I said, ‘Well, d*mn, he’s posting me up, his big a**.’ I’m 6’4″, he’s 6’8″, 6’9″, I’m mean godd*mn, I can’t get to this sh*t.”
Maxwell made every effort to contain the playmaking icon, but Magic’s tall frame and multifaceted skill set proved to be too much for the pesky wing. Eventually, he conceded to Magic and admitted that he couldn’t guard him alone. Luckily, he had the NBA’s all-time leader in blocks manning the paint behind him, but that didn’t help fix Maxwell’s crushed ego.
“I’m behind him like a little alligator arm. Behind him, behind him, trying to get in front of his big a**. I couldn’t get in front of his a**,” Maxwell continued. “And then finally I started saying, ‘Well, godd*mn, is somebody going to come down this motherf***er and help my black a** out?'”
Maxwell ultimately struggled to defend Magic, allowing him to average 20.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 12.4 in their career matchups. Maxwell’s Rockets also only managed to take one of his seven playoff matchups with Johnson. The former defensive pest wasn’t able to overcome Johnson’s Lakers, but not many could. Magic has long been regarded as arguably NBA history’s top point guard for a reason.
