“All The Smoke,” hosted by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, is among the most popular podcasts in the industry.
Social media and two-time NBA champion Vernon Maxwell seem like a match made in Heaven.
The former Houston Rocket nicknamed “Mad Max” has consistently gone viral for his insults directed at Utah, former NBA player Vincent Askew, and his recent appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast, hosted by ex-NBA stars Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson from Port Arthur, Texas.
Maxwell’s recent appearance on “All The Smoke” was such a hit that he will soon become a regular guest on the hugely popular podcast.
Even celebrities like Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx dubbed Maxwell’s appearance on “All The Smoke” the greatest interview ever.
Known for his confrontational attitude and streaky three-point shooting, Maxwell was a spark plug for the Rockets during their first NBA championship run during the 1993-94 season.
When the Rockets blew two 20-point fourth-quarter leads to the Phoenix Suns in the 1994 Western Conference semifinals and received the label “Choke City” from a Houston newspaper, Maxwell resurrected the struggling team by shooting the lights out in game three of that series.
Maxwell’s fearlessness helped the Rockets get back on track, which led to a new moniker, “Clutch City.”
Maxwell delivered the dagger when he sank a jumper over John Starks of the New York Knicks in game seven of the 1994 NBA Finals.
However, after the defending champions began to flail the next season, the Rockets decided to trade starting power forward Otis Thorpe to the Portland Trail Blazers for future Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler, who played the same position as Maxwell (shooting guard).
When coach Rudy Tomjanovich gave Maxwell the task of shooting a potential game-winner in the first game of the 1995 playoffs against the Utah Jazz, despite not receiving much playing time that game, the controversial shooting guard walked away from the team as they went on to win the 1995 NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic.
Although Maxwell’s antics were viewed as controversial in the 1990s, his outspokenness appears well-suited for today’s podcast era.
One of Maxwell’s most viral comments is the time his Hall of Fame teammate Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon slapped him in the locker room in Seattle.
DraftKings reported, “Maxwell shred jokingly that the slap felt like Olajuwon wiped his hands on concrete. Maxwell takes Barnes and Jackson down memory lane to where the slap occurred. It was when the Rockets traveled to Seattle to play the Supersonics. He said he had a bad first half against a stacked Supersonics squad that featured the likes of Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Dana Barros.
“Walking back to the locker room, he started venting his frustrations on how he was playing LOUDLY. As teammates like Sam Cassell tried to calm him down, Olajuwon stood right behind him, witnessing his tantrum, and checked him by telling him that his acting was unprofessional and to STOP IT! Mad Max did not like Dream’s tone, so he said, ‘F*** that, I am tired of you too.’ Maxwell, in hindsight, said he shouldn’t have said that because, at that point, Dream lifted his hand and smacked FIRE into him. He admitted Olajuwon pulled back and slapped him so hard that he thought someone had punched him.”
When the podcast host Barnes asked Maxwell how he responded after the slap, he simply said there was a lot of scrambling in that locker room.
Jackson said that someone had to get that “tool” when a big “ni**a” like Olajuwon puts his hands on you.
Maxwell has long talked about how difficult it was to guard Michael Jordan.
But he told “All The Smoke” that he would rather guard the Chicago Bulls star than the late Drazen Petrovic who became a star playing shooting guard for the then New Jersey Nets.
Maxwell said, “Never seen anything like him before. I’d rather guard mother******* Black Jesus, Michael Jordan, then mother****** there. That’s how bad it was for me and that mother*****. This mother****** used to give me buckets. I used to be so frustrated. I couldn’t stop this mother******. I mean you can’t give this mother****** an inch.”
Well, “Mad Max” has not given Salt Lake City an inch in recent years on social media.
While the world is starting to appreciate Maxwell’s personality, longtime Rockets fans have known for years that social media and podcasting are perfect platforms for his irreverent character traits.
After insulting Utah Jazz fans, he later apologized to them, as he did not realize they were literate and that they had Wi-Fi in Utah.
Despite his humor, Maxwell can get serious in an instant.
After he loaned Askew $10,000, the former Supersonic ghosted the former Florida Gator.
Therefore, Maxwell went to social media to warn former NBA players not to loan Askew any money and not to believe any sob story that Askew might tell them about falling on hard times due to a divorce.
In addition to being entertaining and serious, Maxwell can also be poignant as well as he has opened up about dealing with mental health issues, which impacted his playing career.
During Maxwell’s professional heyday, many men shied away from discussions on mental health.
Many certainly did not seek help for their issues.
Unfortunately, that old mentality probably adversely impacted many careers.
In 2025, however, many men like NBA star Kevin Love have been open about their struggles, positively impacting many men and young boys.
All those attributes have endeared Maxwell to podcast listeners all over the world.
And now the world will hear all his tales regularly on the “All The Smoke” podcast.
