Former Houston Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell attributes much of his 1990s success versus Michael Jordan and Chicago to his mindset.
Jordan’s Bulls are back in the spotlight given ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, and Maxwell is one of the few opposing guards to have had relative success against the Hall of Famer at the peak of his powers.
With Maxwell playing a key role as Houston’s starting shooting guard, the Rockets went 5-1 against the Bulls in Chicago’s first three championship seasons of 1990-91, 1991-92, and 1992-93. Generally, Maxwell was the Rocket tasked with guarding Jordan, and he fared reasonably well.
On Twitter, Maxwell wrote that he didn’t allow himself to become intimidated by the task at hand. He said:
I loved going up against Mike. He was the best. There is no disputing that. But unlike most people who went up against him, I wasn’t going to allow myself to be intimidated. He might’ve been the best, but he was going to have to prove it each and every time we faced off.
I loved going up against Mike. He was the best. There is no disputing that. But unlike most people who went up against him I wasn’t going allow myself to be intimidated. He might’ve been the best but he was going to have to prove it each and every time we faced off. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/2deYxuMzY1
— Vernon Maxwell (@VernonMaxwell11) April 22, 2020
On offense, the fiery Maxwell averaged 18.3 points on 51.3% shooting versus the Bulls — far superior to his 40.8% overall shooting clip and 16.1 points per game average for those seasons as a whole.
Meanwhile, Jordan averaged 29.2 points per game on 48.0% shooting against the Rockets — down slightly from his usual averages of 31.4 points per game on 51.7% shooting in those years.
Maxwell then played a central role in Houston’s first championship run in the 1993-94 campaign. While Jordan was temporarily retired during that season and playing Minor League Baseball, Maxwell and other members of the 1990s Rockets frequently point to their success against Jordan’s Bulls in the three previous seasons as a reason not to assume that Houston’s 1994 title was largely due to his absence.
By the time Jordan next faced the Rockets in the 1995-96 NBA season, Maxwell had moved on from Houston to Philadelphia. Thus, those battles from 1991 through 1993 are the last evidence we have of what a potential playoff showdown between the two guards might have looked like.
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