By admin 
Despite being a two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets, Vernon Maxwell spent most of his 13-year NBA career looking for a team that could harness his basketball talent and fiery personality.
Truth be told, the man known as Mad Max wasn’t an easy player to coach or be teammates with. However, one coach he was comfortable playing for was the renowned carmudgeon, Larry Brown. After two seasons under Brown with the San Antonio Spurs, Maxwell felt good about playing for him again with the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1995-96 season, averaging 16.2 points and 4.4 assists per game.
Unfortunately for Maxwell, Philadelphia didn’t feel the same way about him and they didn’t sign him to another contract after that campaign. Instead, they signed 6’5″ guard Lucious Harris, who had averaged 7.6 points per game in his first three seasons in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks.
This wasn’t lost on Maxwell, who made sure to take note when his team would face off against the Sixers.
Mad Max let Brown hear about it
Maxwell finally got his chance to play against the Sixers and Brown on February 13, 1998. Now playing for the Charlotte Hornets, the feisty veteran rudely welcomed the Sixers at the Charlotte Coliseum, coming off the bench and dropping 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc in a 103-96 victory.
With vindictiveness running through his veins, Maxwell fueled his fire by reminding himself, “They gave him my money.”
He also made sure to let Brown hear about his decision to sign Harris instead of him, loudly exclaiming, “I was available, Larry, I was available.”
Hindsight is always 20/20, and Brown certainly didn’t need any more reminders of the costly mistake they made in signing Harris, who played in only 54 games for the Sixers and averaged 5.4 points per game on a ghastly 38.1 percent shooting.
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Harris, though, eventually became a key cog for the Jason Kidd-led New Jersey Nets squad that made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in the early 2000s.
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Maxwell returned to Philly
Mad Max finally got his wish in October 2000 when he signed with the Sixers. Already 35 at the time, Maxwell claimed he was brought there to mentor the team’s talented but controversial superstar, Allen Iverson.
However, Maxwell’s second stint in the City of Brotherly Love lasted only 24 games. After averaging 5.0 points on a subpar 33.6 percent shooting, the Sixers waived him a few days before Christmas of 2000. Maxwell believes the reason he was let go wasn’t that the Sixers needed help at point guard in light of Eric Snow’s injury; it was because he couldn’t rein in Iverson.
“I can’t make Allen Iverson do what the f–k Allen Iverson don’t want to do. He’s the franchise player on the team. I know y’all brought me in here because you want me to show him how to be a leader and all. Man, I can’t tell this little MF what to do,” Maxwell shared.
Maxwell would later sign with the Mavericks, playing 19 games there in what proved to be his swan song in the NBA.
Related: Vernon Maxwell on how Jason Williams turned rookie duties into revenge: “Don’t you know I just got laid down to bed?”
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 1:46 PM.