Boston Celtics legend Cedric Maxwell spent 11 seasons in the NBA, and he reckons no one in league history played with better White players than he did. On an episode of the Cedric Maxwell Podcast, Maxwell named all the great White players he had the privilege of playing alongside.
“I played with the best all-white team ever,” Maxwell said. “Now, I got Larry Bird, Kevin McHale. I got John Havlicek, I got Dave Cowens, and I got the guy you hate the most. I got Danny Ainge. Can you find me a better all-white team? And Pete Maravich also, I played with him.”
Former NBA player Rick Mahorn couldn’t come up with five players on the spot. He could only name Bill Laimbeer and Jeff Ruland, much to Maxwell’s delight.
“I thought about that the other day,” Maxwell stated. “I said, ‘Man, the team that I played with, the white guys I played with… I can’t think of a better one that you could have a combination of somebody else who played with that many white guys who could play the game at that level.”
Maxwell certainly played alongside some of the greatest ones. He started off by naming Larry Bird, who won three titles, two Finals MVPs, and three MVPs during his time with the Celtics. Bird also made 12 All-Star, 10 All-NBA, and three All-Defensive teams.
Kevin McHale was next, and he won three titles to go with two Sixth Man of the Year Awards. McHale made seven All-Star, one All-NBA, and six All-Defensive teams.
Maxwell then dug a bit deeper in the past to come up with his next two picks. John Havlicek won eight titles and a Finals MVP in his career. Havlicek also made 13 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and eight All-Defensive teams.
Dave Cowens was a teammate of Havlicek’s, and he won two titles and an MVP. Cowens made eight All-Star, three All-NBA, and three All-Defensive teams.
Danny Ainge was initially the last pick made by Maxwell, and he won two titles while making the All-Star team once. Ainge was never really a star, but the man Maxwell mentioned after him sure was.
Pete Maravich was a sensational scorer and won the scoring title in 1977. He also made five All-Star and four All-NBA teams. All in all, that’s a pretty formidable group of players.
