Cedric Maxwell
Kinston (Kinston, North Carolina) | |
College | Charlotte (1973–1977) |
---|---|
NBA draft | 1977: 1st round, 12th overall pick |
Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
Playing career | 1977–1988 |
Position | Small forward |
Number | 30, 31, 19, 18 |
Career history | |
As player: | |
1977–1985 | Boston Celtics |
1985–1987 | Los Angeles Clippers |
1987–1988 | Houston Rockets |
As coach: | |
1996 | Long Island Surf |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career statistics | |
Points | 10,465 (12.5 ppg) |
Rebounds | 5,261 (6.3 rpg) |
Assists | 1,862 (2.2 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Cedric Bryan Maxwell (born November 21, 1955) is an American retired professional basketball player now in radio broadcasting. Nicknamed "Cornbread", he played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and played a key role in two championships with the Boston Celtics.
After a college career in which he led the
Maxwell and McHale would compete for the starting forward position over the next several seasons, with McHale winning the starting job and Maxwell being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers just prior to the 1985–1986 season. Maxwell would play for a season and a half for the Clippers, before being traded midway through the 1986–1987 season to the Houston Rockets, where he would finish out his career before retiring after the 1987–1988 season with over 10,000 points scored over his career.
Since retiring as a player, he briefly coached the Long Island Surf of the United States Basketball League before starting his career as a radio broadcaster, serving as the color commentator for Celtics radio broadcasts since 2001. His jersey number 31 was retired by the Celtics in 2003.
College career
Maxwell was a star
Professional career
Maxwell made an impact in his second season with the Celtics. While
Maxwell was best known for his moves near or beneath the basket. He was very effective in the low post, faking defenders into the air, drawing contact, then making high percentage shots, and sometimes drawing a foul, using either his jump-hook close to the basket or going up against the glass. It was rare that Maxwell took an outside jump shot, especially when Celtic teammates like Bird or Tiny Archibald were on the floor. This helped the Celtics run a balanced offense with a formidable inside game that was hard for most teams to defend.
Maxwell, in addition to being a dangerous scorer and a colorful character, was a clutch performer in the playoffs. Maxwell was named MVP of the
Maxwell was traded, with a draft pick, on September 6, 1985, to the Los Angeles Clippers for center Bill Walton. Maxwell spent a season and a half with the Clippers before being dealt to the Houston Rockets in January, 1987, for two draft picks. He finally retired after the 1987–88 NBA season, having scored 10,465 points and pulled down 5,261 rebounds over the course of 11 seasons, which averages over the course of his career to 12.5 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.
Career after the NBA
Maxwell was the 22nd former Celtic to have his jersey (number 31) retired by the Celtics on December 15, 2003. He is now a radio broadcaster for
On the March 16, 2010 Primetime with The Packman radio show (WFNZ-AM) originating out of Charlotte, Cedric Maxwell stated he was open to the coaching position at Charlotte. He went on to say he was hoping the school would at least offer him an interview.
Nickname
Maxwell received the nickname "Cornbread" from his college teammate Melvin Watkins after the pair went to see the movie Cornbread, Earl and Me,[2] in which a 12-year-old boy is traumatized by the murder of his friend, a star basketball player. Watkins thought that Maxwell looked like the title character (played by Jamaal Wilkes) and so began calling him Cornbread. Since Maxwell did not like the nickname, it did not gain widespread use until Maxwell was named MVP of the 1976 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), when, according to Watkins, "The New York media picked up on [the nickname]."[3]
Career statistics
NBA
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
† | Won an NBA championship | * | Led the league |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977–78 | Boston | 72 | 16.8 | .538 | .752 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 7.3 | ||
1978–79 | Boston | 80 | 37.1 | .584* | .802 | 9.9 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 19.0 | ||
1979–80 | Boston | 80 | 80 | 34.3 | .609* | .787 | 8.8 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16.9 | |
1980–81† | Boston | 81 | 81 | 33.7 | .588 | .000 | .782 | 6.5 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 15.2 |
1981–82 | Boston | 78 | 73 | 33.2 | .548 | .000 | .747 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 14.8 |
1982–83 | Boston | 79 | 71 | 28.5 | .499 | .000 | .812 | 5.3 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 11.9 |
1983–84† | Boston | 80 | 78 | 31.3 | .532 | .167 | .753 | 5.8 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 11.9 |
1984–85 | Boston | 57 | 51 | 26.2 | .533 | .000 | .831 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 11.1 |
1985–86 | L.A. Clippers | 76 | 72 | 32.3 | .475 | .000 | .795 | 8.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 14.1 |
1986–87 | L.A. Clippers/Houston | 81 | 31 | 24.3 | .530 | .000 | .775 | 5.4 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 10.0 |
1987–88 | Houston | 71 | 0 | 11.9 | .468 | .000 | .769 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
Career | 835 | 537 | 28.5 | .546 | .053 | .784 | 6.3 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 12.5 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1980
|
Boston | 9 | 35.6 | .634 | .754 | 10.0 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 18.2 | ||
1981 †
|
Boston | 17 | 35.2 | .580 | .818 | 7.4 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 16.1 | ||
1982
|
Boston | 12 | 32.1 | .517 | .714 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 14.5 | ||
1983
|
Boston | 7 | 35.1 | .527 | .842 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12.9 | ||
1984 †
|
Boston | 23 | 32.7 | .503 | .000 | .779 | 5.2 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 11.9 | |
1985
|
Boston | 20 | 0 | 11.9 | .488 | .791 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 3.8 | |
1987
|
Houston | 10 | 0 | 17.7 | .529 | .000 | .743 | 3.3 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 6.2 |
1988
|
Houston | 4 | 0 | 3.8 | .500 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | ||
Career | 102 | 0 | 26.8 | .545 | .000 | .777 | 5.4 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 10.9 |
References
- ^ "Celtics broadcaster apologizes on-air". Boston.com. 2007-02-28.
- ^ "Cornbread, Earl, and Me" (1975) at IMDB
- ^ Pickett, Al (May 30, 1998). "New A&M coach gave Cornbread his nickname". Abilene Reporter-News. p. 6B. Retrieved May 14, 2023 – via newspapers.com.