Vernon Maxwell: Rockets Weren't 'Intimidated' by Michael Jordan, Bulls

Michael Jordan has taken center stage over the last week as ESPN's documentary 'The Last Dance' provides an inside look at the six-time Finals MVP. And the film has already provided plenty of memorable moments, many of them surrounding Jordan's extreme competitive nature. 

Jordan is undoubtedly the best player of the 1990s–and arguably the greatest player of all time–but it wasn't just his supreme talent that set him apart from the competition. Jordan delighted in withering opponents both mentally and physically. His trash talk is now legendary, and the wrong player could be sent into a tailspin after facing off against His Airness. Vernon Maxwell didn't suffer such dire consequences.

The former Rockets' guard was Houston's primary defender on Jordan throughout the first half of the 1990s, and he largely held his own. Jordan averaged 24.7 points per game on 42.3% shooting in seven matchups against Maxwell from 1991-95, a stretch in which the Rockets went 6–1 against Chicago. Maxwell wasn't intimidated by Jordan. The results speak for themselves.

"I loved going up against Mike. He was the best," Maxwell tweeted on Tuesday. "But unlike most people who went up against [Jordan] 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."

Maxwell and the Rockets didn't reach the Finals in 1991-93, and Jordan played baseball in the following two seasons as the Rockets won back-to-back championships. How would the Rockets fare in the Finals against Jordan and Co.? Houston appeared confident in a video released on April 19. 

"Olajuwon would’ve eaten [Luc Longley] up, and [Vernon] Maxwell would’ve guarded Jordan beyond belief. Look at the head-to-head matchups," the video's narrator said. "The Rockets were the best team in 1994 and 1995."

Jordan vs. Houston never came to fruition in the Finals, and any analysis of the matchup is little more than a thought exercise. But Maxwell's impact against Jordan is undeniable. You can't quite stop MJ, but Maxwell slowed Jordan as well as perhaps any player across the 1990s.