Vernon Maxwell was one of the hard-nosed guard defenders in the NBA during the 90s. At 6'4", Maxwell was rough, tough, and strong enough to defend the best guards in the league and give them problems.
But for all his greatness as a defender, "Mad Max" hated facing the late Drazen Petrovic . In fact, Maxwell once said that he would rather play against Michael Jordan than guard Petro.
"I used to tell Rudy all the time, I said 'Man, treat that motherfu**** like you treat Mike. MF, when Mike come out of the game, MF you bring me out of the game. When Mike come back up to that goddamn middle of the table, you let me meet this MF up there. Feed him to me like that,'" Maxwell said on Gil's Arena .
Petrovic loved to lit up the Rockets
Petrovic had a short prime in the NBA. However, in the two seasons he put the world on notice, the Croatian enjoyed playing against the Houston Rockets and put up some of his best performances against "Mad Max."
Drazen scored 33 points on November 26, 1991 outdueling Maxwell who had 29 in that game. The Croatian scoring machine also had a 44-point game on 17-23 shooting against Vernon on January 24, 1993. Six days later, he dropped 32 against the Rockets, leaving Maxwell wanting to guard Petrovic every time he got into the game.
"Don't let none of these bit*** get in there and get this MF going," Vernon continued. "Once this MF get going, and you have to run off, they running off three, four screens over there in New Jersey with the Nets, they was running that MF, that MF running all night, he catch that bit** at mid-air and turn this way man and square his sh** up, and I'll be like, 'Goddamn.' And then when he got going, there's no cutting his water off…Yes, I would rather guard Mike than guard that MF."
Related: Michael Jordan on playing point guard for the Dream Team: "I told the players before the game I'm not Magic Johnson"
The best shooter Reggie played against
Perhaps the best compliment Petrovic received in the NBA came from someone who shot the lights out like him: Reggie Miller . During a 2017 interview, the Indiana Pacers Hall of Famer referred to Drazen as the best shooter he had ever played against.
"I have never seen anything like it," Reggie said via JrStudio . "Petrovic had the quickest release I've ever seen, and what made him so unique is I prided myself on working off screens, and you know, working off the big men coming off, he was just as good, and we talked about footwork, arguably one of the best guys with that footwork at the shooting guard position."
Unfortunately for basketball fans, Drazen played only five seasons in the NBA, and in three of those, he didn't get the chance to showcase his incredible scoring ability. But in the two years where he set the league on fire, those who played against him agreed that he was a great scorer. "Max Max" and "Uncle Reg" are the proof of that.
Related: "Play him with me, not behind me" - When Clyde Drexler suggested to his former Blazers coach to play Drazen Petrovic more
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