Vernon Maxwell, known as “Mad Max,” has relived a fiery altercation with none other than Shaquille O’Neal during their days as adversaries in the mid-90s. At 6’4″, Maxwell isn’t the first guy you’d expect to square up with a 7’1″, 300-pound force like Shaq.
But Maxwell decided to confront the Big Diesel head-on when tempers flared during a game between the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic.
“Something happened… And we got into it,” Maxwell told All the Smoke. “I don’t know why my little a** fcking 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 sht like… ‘I knock your a** out.'”
Mad Max brought backup
While on-court trash talk is nothing new, Maxwell revealed that this beef escalated far beyond the hardwood. In his own words, he wasn’t just angry-he was armed.
“After the game, I had that tool,” Maxwell said. “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.”
Fortunately, the tense standoff with Shaq never crossed into physical violence. Cooler heads, or perhaps the weight of the situation, ultimately prevailed. In hindsight, Maxwell says he holds no grudge against the Hall of Fame big man.
“I got nothing but love for Shaq,” he said, reflecting on the incident with a mix of pride and amusement.
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