Vernon Maxwell’s tenure on the San Antonio Spurs was a complex one, and it ended in the same way, with Gregg Popovich sending him to Houston after ‘Mad Max’ didn’t comply with his rules.
Talking with Gilbert Arenas on the ‘No Chill’ podcast, Maxwell explained how his last days as a Spur went, how Gregg Popovich warned him against going to clubs, but he simply didn’t listen to it (6:10 mark).
“I couldn’t do that s— he wanted me to do,” said Maxwell. “I’m from Florida. I’m new in San Antonio and these [expletives] are trying me everywhere I go, so I’m knocking [expletives] out in the streets. So Pop tells me ‘no more clubs. The next time you go to a club, I gotta get you out of here.’ “
“That day, six hours later, I was at a damn bar, in a club,” revealed Maxwell. “He called me the next day, about six in the morning — ‘hey, I need you down here.’ He said, ‘I told you.’ They had a PI follow me. My dumb— didn’t even know. He told me, get your s— packed. I’m trying to find a team that wants your a–. He called me back and said ‘you’re going to Houston.’ That’s when I took off from there.”
That was the end of it for Maxwell, who never really wanted to change himself, not even for his team. In the end, Popovich had no more remedy than to send him to a different team, where he would reach the next level.
He had three stints with the Spurs, playing 200 games with them. Before his move to Houston, he played in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons, playing 79 and 49 games, respectively. Maxwell would come back in 1996-97 to have some sort of revenge with the Spurs. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 rebounds during those 200 games played with the now five-time NBA champions.
Vernon Maxwell’s Future Was Better After Leaving San Antonio
Still, things went a lot better when he joined the Rockets. He was a key piece in their two NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Even though he starred in controversial moments during his time in Houston, Maxwell left a big mark on those magical teams that won back-to-back championships.
He left the team in 1995, regretting the way things went for him and the franchise that gave him everything.
In 402 games with the Rockets, Maxwell posted 14.9 points, 4.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds. It’s fair to say that his stubbornness actually helped his career. If he stayed in San Antonio, perhaps he would’ve never reached the glory he tasted with the Rockets.
To this day, he thanks Pop for making that decision, as things couldn’t have gone better for ‘Mad Max.’
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