Imagine being 6 ft 4 and daring to call out 7 ft 1 Shaquille O’Neal for a physical confrontation. That’s exactly what a former Houston Rockets star did. But make no mistake of considering him a fool, as the 2x NBA champ brought a weapon of sorts to even the odds in his favour. Yep, that’s how far the situation had escalated.
The NBA legend in discussion? Vernon Maxwell, aka Mad Max. During his recent appearance on All the Smoke, Maxwell was asked if he had any interesting story on him about Shaquille O’Neal. The 2x NBA champ went back to the time when Big Diesel was still in the Orlando Magic, while Mad Max was playing for the Houston Rockets.
“Something happened… And we got into it. I don’t know why my little a** f*cking with Shaq… Shaq gonna throw my a** all over the gym if he wanted to. But we got into it, and then Shaq, he said something, and I was like… ‘Hey, big fella. What you said to me, motherf**ker?’ And he said some sh*t like… ‘I knock your a** out,’” Maxwell recalled.
The shots had been fired, and Vernon Maxwell was in no mood to back down. After all, they didn’t call him Mad Max for nothing. There has been an instance where he even punched a fan who was heckling him from the sidelines. But the thing with Shaquille O’Neal? It could’ve gotten a lot uglier, judging from the further details revealed by Maxwell on All the Smoke.
“After the game, I had that tool. I walk around outside that locker room with that goddamn tool. I had that tool walking around outside that locker room. They talking about Max. Go ahead with all that bulls**t now. That man ain’t gonna get on out of here now. Cause I had that [tool]… in my hand. I was ready,” Maxwell said, recalling his rage and chain of events.
LANDOVER, MD – NOVEMBER 15: Vernon Maxwell #11 of the Philadelphia 76ers during a NBA basketball game against the Washington Bullets on Novembr 15, 1995 at USAir Arena in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
However, the 2x NBA champ made it clear that he has nothing but love for Shaquille O’Neal despite a past altercation that nearly came to a violent resolution. Yep, it could’ve actually come down to that, considering other controversial altercations Mad Max has been involved in.
The time when Vernon Maxwell tried stabbing his own teammates
Maxwell will always be remembered for his role in Houston’s back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. That stretch marked the peak of his career, no doubt. But if you thought it was all smooth sailing for Mad Max in Houston, think again. His time with the Rockets came with chaos. And one unforgettable locker room meltdown.
It all unraveled during a game against the Seattle SuperSonics. Maxwell wasn’t happy with how he was playing and started spitting on the floor while heading to the locker room, clearly fuming. That’s when Hakeem Olajuwon stepped in. Now, not many dared to check Vernon back then, but Dream wasn’t just anyone.
“I spit on the floor and sht*t… I was spitting, and I was talking to myself, and Dream was behind me… He was like, ‘Maxy, be professional!’ And I was like, ‘Dream, for real man, I don’t want to hear that sht*t right now. And fu*k you too, Dream,’” Maxwell recalled on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast in 2023.
Naturally, that didn’t sit well with the big man, and Olajuwon responded by slapping Maxwell across the face. And that’s when things exploded. Mad Max, true to his nickname, completely snapped. He broke a glass bottle and went after Olajuwon—and then everyone else. The scene? Absolute mayhem. “I got mad, I ran everybody out the locker room, I was trying to stab everybody. I had a piece of glass… I was trying to stab everybody… Everybody ran out of the locker room,” he recalled.
One can imagine that if Mad Max was not willing to spare his own teammates, he would not have backed down against Shaquille O’Neal either. Especially when he went ahead with a “tool” in his hand. Would that have evened the odds for Maxwell? There’s no telling. But it could’ve been the most infamous incident of the league, which fortunately got avoided.
The post Locker Room Got Tensed After Shaquille O’Neal & 2x NBA Champ’s Heated Exchange Almost Turned Hostile appeared first on EssentiallySports.
