The Cedric Maxwell Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Thursday, June 12th, 2002
You were drafted by the Celtics and the team went 32-50
during your rookie season. The next year the team won
29 games and by then you’d played for three coaches –
all former Celtic greats. At that point in time did you
feel as if the Celtics would ever turn things around?
I’d say it was more a case of shock than anything else.
Coming in as a rookie, I joined a team that suffered its
first losing record since the 1969-70 season. That year
we had established and proven veterans on the team like
Dave Cowens, John Havlicek and Jo Jo White, guys who had
been there and who had won two NBA championships as
Boston Celtics. Charlie Scott was on that ’77-’78
team. Dave Bing. Curtis Rowe. Don Chaney. Sidney
Wicks. Kermit Washington was brought in and played 32
games. Ernie DiGregorio played 27. In all we had eight
guys who were former All-Stars but the chemistry just
wasn’t right.
The next season we added players like Bob McAdoo and Tiny Archibald, but the team continued to struggle. It reached a point of desperation. We were grasping at straws, trying different combinations but not getting the desired results. It was a very difficult period.
Larry Bird joins the team in 1979, and the Celtics
complete one of the most remarkable turnarounds in NBA
history, winning 61 games and the Atlantic Division
title in the process. Tell me about that Celtics team
in general, and that Larry Bird – the 1979-80 version –
in particular. What made both special?
Larry came in with a chip on his shoulder. There were
so many people who questioned him as a basketball
player, and who said that he wasn’t going to be great.
There were other people labeling him as the ‘White
Hope’. Larry was determined to come in and prove these
people wrong. He worked hard and he carried that
attitude with him all the time. He was very motivated
to succeed.
Larry’s arrival meant that my role on the team changed. The previous season I’d averaged 19 points-per-game and was the go-to guy on offense. Larry was suddenly the primary weapon. He played on the opposite side of the basket and I understood the need for me to sacrifice in order to make the team better. I had always been a team player, and I was unselfish when it came to personal statistics and achievements. Those things weren’t really important to me. I wanted to win so I sacrificed scoring and began concentrating on other aspects of my game.
As for that particular Celtics team, I’d have to say that we were the best in terms of the total package. Philly was more athletic, and Los Angeles had more foot speed. I think that was obvious to anyone who followed NBA basketball at the time. But I still think that we were the more complete team of the three.
Bill Fitch was brought in as coach of the ’79-’80 Celtics. That team had some great players on it, players like Bird, Tiny Archibald and Rick Robey. Pete Maravich played 26 games for us – who I absolutely loved – but Pete was at the end of a Hall of Fame career. Our practices were awesome that year, as good as any championship game I’ve been involved in.
In Larry’s autobiography Drive, he has this to
say about you: ‘Max was always talking trash…sometimes
he’d come into the locker room after an interview and
say, “Hey, we’ve got to get serious tonight. I just
said something they’re not going to like.”’ It’s my
favorite passage in the book because it reveals both the
playful and competitive sides of Cedric Maxwell. Do you
agree with that assessment?
Yes. I’m a very competitive person, which probably
explains why I never picked up golf. If I did play I’d
want to be the best and I wouldn’t be satisfied
otherwise. Why did I talk trash in certain situations?
Because I knew I’d have to back it up. I didn’t want to
go out there and look like a fool after saying things to
fire up an opponent. It raised the stakes and gave me
the edge I needed.
I felt very fortunate to play basketball – at that time, there were a little over 200 players in the NBA and I felt as though I was one of the better players in the league. I wasn’t the biggest or fastest player out there, but I was smart, tenacious and very competitive.
And I wasn’t the only one out there talking trash. Larry was a pretty good talker himself – he was the talker of all talkers [laughs]! We had M.L. Carr…he was always talking trash. Kevin McHale was always talking. So even from that aspect it was a total team effort [laughs]. But you have to remember that these guys could talk and back it up. That’s what made those teams so special.
You’ve never been one to shy away from the big moments.
Game 5 of the 1981 NBA Finals and Game 7 of the 1984
Finals jump to mind.
That’s just who I am. Some players step up and embrace
those situations and others shy away from them. I’ve
never been one to shy away.
