Tag: Vernon Maxwell

As Houston improves its NBA status, former Rockets are taking notice

“They had a great year, and I think this year is going to be special,” Vernon Maxwell says of the Rockets. “They are on the right track, and I like what they are doing.”

The Houston Rockets demonstrated remarkable resilience in their rebuilding process last year, culminating in a 41-41 finish to the 2023-24 regular season. This marked a significant milestone, as it was the first time they achieved a .500 or better record in four years.

Under the leadership of first-year head coach Ime Udoka, and with the contributions of veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks — along with the emerging talents of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and Cam Whitmore — the team rekindled much of the respect that the franchise once had.

Their attitude and work ethic even caught the attention of former players waiting to see how the new regime would restore order.

“They had a great season,” said former Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell, who spoke at Monday’s charity event organized by former player and current front office member John Lucas. “They have a lot of young guys, and I think that they need to keep that core together.”

Maxwell, 58, played a vital role in helping the Rockets win their first NBA championship in 1994. Given that experience, he knows a thing or two about what it takes to develop on-court chemistry.

“They had a great year, and I think that this year is going to be special. They are on the right track, and I like what they are doing.”

“Mad Max,” as he was known around the league, wasn’t the only former Rockets player to take note of Houston’s turnaround during the 2023-24 season. Point guard DJ Augustin, who played in the NBA for 19 seasons and was on a Rockets team that only won 20 games during the 2021-22 season, also noticed the different mentality and approach to the game from the players.

“It was great to see,” Augustin said of the turnaround. “Rafael [Stone] did a good job of getting the free agents he did. Ime [Udoka] did a good job of coaching those guys. You can tell they have a structure and great organized dedication that they put into the team, and the guys looked like they followed it and they made strides.”

Augustin was impressed by the turnaround of third-year shooting guard Jalen Green, who had an explosive second half of the season. “JG is my guy, and you can tell he is starting to develop,” he said.

Maxwell and Augustin were just a few of the former athletes and sports media personalities who attended the event at the Memorial Park Golf Course. Held each year by the John Lucas Foundation, the event raises money to fund healthy living programs focused on mental health, substance abuse prevention, and youth basketball.

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Vernon Maxwell Initiative hosts symposium, golf tournament to benefit athletes’ mental health

The Vernon Maxwell Initiative held its inaugural golf tournament and mental health symposium this week, and the #Rockets legend is vowing to keep it going.

HOUSTON — The Vernon Maxwell Initiative held its inaugural golf tournament and Mental Health Symposium this week, with event organizers describing each event as a resounding success.

Led by the former NBA player, who won the 1994 championship with the Houston Rockets, Wednesday’s golf tournament was filled with friendly competition, camaraderie, and a shared commitment to advancing mental health awareness within the sports community.

“My goal was to provide athletes with a supportive space where they feel heard and can find help for their mental well-being and progress,” Maxwell said to reporters.

Participants included former NBA players Metta World Peace, Otis Thorpe, Mario Elie, Gerald Green, DJ Augustin, Derek Harper, Cadillac Anderson, Ryan Hollins, and Trevor Ariza; former NFL players Yancey Thigpen and Vince Young; Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards; and professional long driver and 2022 XLD Texas League champion John Zook, whose team finished first.

“Metta coming and being a part of the symposium was big,” Maxwell said. “I’m really happy that my former teammates like Mario Elie and Otis Thorpe, and my young guys like Trevor Ariza and DJ Augustin, came and played. It means a lot that everyone came to support.”

“Life Enhancement Services and DraftKings were a huge help for this tournament, and I can’t wait for this to expand and grow,” Maxwell said of his fuutre plans. “Mental health is real, and the Vernon Maxwell Initiative is an opportunity for me to help not just athletes but people from all walks of life understand that it’s okay to ask for help. Your mind should be worked out, just like your body.”

Going forward, the initiative’s golf tournament will be an annual event, with Maxwell continuing to dedicate himself to fostering accessible and viable mental health options for athletes of all ages.

Here’s a roundup of photos and videos from this week’s activities.

Every Houston Rockets player who’s scored 50 points in a game

How many players have scored 50-plus points for the #Rockets in an NBA game? The list is shorter than you might think.

By almost any metric, the Houston Rockets are one of the NBA’s better franchises. In addition to representing the fourth-largest city in the United States, they are one of only 11 clubs to win multiple championships (1993-94, 1994-95) and they rank 11th among the league’s 30 franchises in all-time winning percentage (.515).

That winning clip, of course, was higher before this rebuilding run of the past three seasons, which allowed Houston to get three straight top-four draft picks. But after stockpiling first-round talent from those drafts and supplementing it with a new head coach (Ime Udoka) and key veterans (Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green) in the 2023 offseason, a resurgence may not be far away.

Historically, the Rockets are a proud franchise, and they’re striving to return to their past glory. Since debuting as the San Diego Rockets in 1967-68, a wealth of basketball talent has passed through the club: Hall of Famers, MVPs and all-time greats.

Now, in this dull part of the offseason, we’re looking back at some of the history the Rockets have produced during their NBA years.

This edition looks at elite scorers. Per StatMuse, eight players have scored 50-plus points in a regular-season game for the Rockets.

Ordered by number of 50-point games, those players are:

Without designed plays, Rockets rookie Tari Eason making a big impact

Tari Eason (21 points, 10 rebounds) to @BigSargeSportz after his #Rockets debut: “Plays aren’t really run for me, anyway, so I’m just used to finding open spaces and getting it on my own.”

HOUSTON — Rockets rookie Tari Eason had an intriguing NBA preseason debut in Sunday’s 134-96 win over San Antonio. He finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 forward connected on 9-of-13 shots (69.2%) in only 21 minutes played.

Going back to his LSU career, ending the game with a double-double is a normal stat line for last season’s Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year. In this case, it was fascinating he did it all without one offensive play designed to get him the ball.

“We did not run one play for Tari tonight,” said Rockets head coach Stephen Silas during his postgame press conference. “But his crashing and his knack for getting to the rim is good.”

Silas knew precisely what the No. 17 selection in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft brought to his team when he sat courtside in Las Vegas and watched Eason earn All-NBA Summer League first-team honors, averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

“I am always working on my game,” Eason said over the summer. “I love to hoop, so anywhere a hoop is, I love to go play.”

Eason, 21, admitted it is common for an offensive set not to have any designed plays involving him, and he is OK with that.

“Plays aren’t really run for me, anyway, so I am just used to finding open spaces and getting it on my own,” Eason said after Houston’s 38-point victory over the Spurs. “Whether that is getting it off the glass or a steal. Anything I can do to try and get myself going.”

That mentality takes many Rockets fans back to 30 years ago when Houston selected another All-SEC small forward in the first round of the 1992 NBA draft: Robert Horry. Like Eason, Horry had to find his way in a system focused on more offensive-minded players such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell.

The majority of his four years with the Rockets consisted of Horry being in the right place at the right time and doing all the dirty work.

When he was called to produce offensively, he had a knack for finding ways to create points, especially in the clutch, which was needed during the Rockets’ back-to-back NBA championships.

“Big Shot Bob” then went on to win five more NBA titles during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

Early indications are Eason has similar levels of determination and grit, which the team hopes will lead him down a familiar path.

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Every player in Philadelphia 76ers history who has worn No. 11

Here are all 33 players who have worn the No. 11 in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s summertime in the NBA, so it’s time to learn some history. The Philadelphia 76ers are one of the older franchises in the NBA. Their history dates to the 1949-50 season.

With that longevity, the team has had hundreds of players come through the City of Brotherly Love. Sixers Wire looks at the No. 11, which has been worn by 33 of those players in the history of the franchise.

This running series will go through all of the uniform numbers worn in franchise history. The previous edition of this series was a list compiling the 30 players who have worn the No. 12.

Here is the list of the 33 who have worn No. 11 in Sixers history:

In halftime brawl, Vernon Maxwell recalls wanting to stab Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon

In a halftime brawl, former Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell recalls having a plan to stab Hakeem Olajuwon with broken glass before police came in — with guns drawn — to break it up.

Known best as “Mad Max,” retired shooting guard Vernon Maxwell played with the Houston Rockets over parts of six seasons from 1989 to 1995. That run included a starting role on the franchise’s first championship team (1993-94) alongside legendary center Hakeem Olajuwon.

But in the early years, there was apparently at least one night when their partnership could have ended in infamy, and perhaps worse.

In a new appearance on the “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas” podcast, Maxwell recalled a game in Seattle where police barged into Houston’s road locker room ⁠— with guns drawn ⁠— due to a brawl.

NOTE: Transcription and video contain profanity.

According to Maxwell, the incident began when they were walking back to the locker room, and the two exchanged harsh words — with Maxwell wanting more on-court opportunities to shoot. From there, Maxwell says Olajuwon slapped him in the face. The interview continues:

I said, ‘God damn, this [expletive] slapped the [expletive] out of me.’ That [expletive] hit me so hard, man, (he) knocked me out the chair.

I jumped up, grabbed my chair, and throwed it at (that) [expletive], bust the glass in the locker room. Everybody running out. Police come in with the guns drawn, like ‘What the hell goin’ on in here?’

I was like, ‘Damn, they got the guns on me at a professional halftime.’ At a professional game.

Maxwell said he had grabbed a piece of glass and was going to “chase Dream (Olajuwon) and stab the [expletive] out of him,” but between the police presence and the game’s resumption, he didn’t get the chance to.

Fortunately for the Rockets, that duo went on to have better days. In particular, Maxwell credits Olajuwon’s conversion to Islam leading to him becoming a better teammate as the years progressed.

“After that, (Hakeem) became Muslim,” Maxwell recalled. “He was so quiet. So humble. So, (he) wanted me to become Muslim. I couldn’t do it. But, he was a great teammate after that.”

Maxwell jokingly referenced the incident earlier this season after the highly publicized halftime drama involving Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr. at Toyota Center on New Year’s Day. “I don’t remember trying to stab anyone, but if I did, it was out of love,” Maxwell tweeted.

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Where Rockets rank among the greatest nicknames in NBA history

“Hakeem the Dream” and “Clyde the Glide” are among Houston’s best contributions to elite NBA nicknames, but they’re far from alone. Here’s a comprehensive list through Rockets history.

The best sports nicknames are colorful accents that effortlessly add a dash of flavor to the games we watch and play.

Some originate as terms of endearment, while others are bestowed as labels of ineptitude. That got us wondering about where some of the greatest players in basketball history — such as Michael Jordan (Air), LeBron James (King James) and Earvin Johnson (Magic) — rank in the pantheon of great NBA nicknames.

Baseball, with its long and rich history, once generated vivid monikers such as the Sultan of Swat (Babe Ruth) and the Splendid Splinter (Ted Williams). But basketball, with its playground roots and hip-hop culture, arguably is the sport with the most imaginative sports nicknames today.

With that in mind, Thomas Neumann of Rookie Wire took a shot at ranking the 101 greatest nicknames in NBA history. See below for where players with ties to the Houston Rockets were ranked in that list.

All nickname commentary and history is from Neumann.

Vernon Maxwell trolls Jazz yet again after Rockets win at Utah

Former Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell has become known for trolling the Jazz, and he did it yet again after Houston’s latest win at Utah.

Former Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell has become known during the social media era for trolling the Jazz, and he did so yet again after Houston’s upset victory at Utah on Wednesday night.

Maxwell was a starter on Houston’s first NBA championship team in the 1993-94 season, and the Rockets had plenty of memorable games versus the Jazz in that “Clutch City” era — both in the regular season and the playoffs. More times than not, Houston emerged victorious, and the fiery guard best known as “Mad Max” was often a big reason.

The intensity of those 1990s games and the raucous environment involving fans in the stands made for a rivalry that has stood the test of time. So when the Rockets won at Salt Lake City on Wednesday, punctuated by yet another game-clinching shot by Kevin Porter Jr. in the final minute, Maxwell made sure to let the world know about it.

Here’s a sampling of the postgame comments by Maxwell, along with a look at postgame highlights for anyone who missed it. With the victory, the current Rockets have now won three of their last four games.

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Podcast: Vernon Maxwell on his desire to get more involved with Rockets

Maxwell also shared why he’s confident Houston would have beaten Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in a hypothetical NBA Finals meeting.

Former Houston Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell joined host Jackson Gatlin on Thursday’s episode of the Locked on Rockets podcast.

Maxwell was the starter at shooting guard on the 1993-94 Rockets, which became the first team in Houston history to win a championship in one of the major U.S. professional sports leagues. He hit the dagger 3-pointer in Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals to effectively seal the title.

More recently, the 55-year-old has indicated a desire to get more involved with the Rockets in a formal capacity. With that in mind, topics discussed on Thursday’s half-hour episode include:

  • What Maxwell would like to do in a more official role with the franchise, including his aspirations to become an announcer, assistant coach, or member of the front office
  • His desire to build a better relationship with owner Tilman Fertitta
  • Differences in the modern NBA game to Maxwell’s era
  • His personal rivalries (and bad blood) with the Utah Jazz and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls
  • Why he’s confident there are no “asterisks” attached to Houston’s championships in 1994 and 1995, despite the unique circumstances of Jordan’s mid-career retirement

Thursday’s Locked on Rockets episode can be listened to via Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, and nearly all major podcast distributors.

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Vernon Maxwell wants better relationship with Tilman Fertitta, Rockets

“(Tilman Fertitta) and I haven’t been able to build a great relationship,” Maxwell told Raymond Lucas Jr. of The Dream Shake.

Best known in recent years for his online trolling of the Utah Jazz, former Houston Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell says he would like to get more involved with his old team (and on a more serious level).

In recent weeks, he even suggested becoming a team broadcaster in the aftermath of longtime play-by-play voice Bill Worrell choosing to step down from the role after the NBA’s 2020-21 season. Maxwell clearly remains a fan of the Rockets and loudly supports them on social media.

But there is one potential stumbling block when it comes to the former NBA champion becoming involved with the team in any official capacity. When Maxwell played with the Rockets in the early 1990s, including as the starting shooting guard on the franchise’s first championship team (1993-94), the team’s owner was Leslie Alexander.

In July 2017, Alexander sold the Rockets to Tilman Fertitta. Since then, Maxwell says he hasn’t had the same relationship.

“(Fertitta) and I haven’t been able to build a great relationship,” Maxwell told Raymond Lucas Jr. of The Dream Shake. “The previous owners loved me and kept me involved, however, that’s declined since he’s arrived.”

At just 55 years old, there’s still plenty of time for Maxwell to potentially land the type of role he craves with his beloved franchise. Step 1, it appears, is building a connection with the team’s new ownership.

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