Cedric Maxwell

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Cedric Bryan Maxwell (born November 21, 1955, in Kinston, North Carolina) is a retired American professional basketball player now in radio broadcasting. Nicknamed "Max" or "Cornbread", he played 11 seasons in the NBA, playing a key role in two championships with the Boston Celtics.

Contents 1 College career 2 Professional career 3 Personal 4 Notes 5 External link

[edit] College career

Maxwell was a star forward/center for UNC Charlotte. Among the 49ers, Maxwell ranks 6th all-time in points scored and his #33 jersey was retired in 1977, when he led the 49ers to the NCAA Final Four. Upon completion of his career at Charlotte, Maxwell was the 12th overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, where he played for eight of his eleven seasons.

[edit] Professional career

Maxwell made an impact in his second season with the Celtics. While Boston was mired in an otherwise awful 1978-79 season as they awaited Larry Bird's decision to sign with the franchise, the second-year power forward averaged 19.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Celtics would go just 29-53 but the young Maxwell's potential, along with the promising addition of Bird and others, set the stage for a dynasty.

Maxwell, in addition to being a dangerous scorer and a colorful character, was a clutch performer when it came playoff time. Despite being overshadowed by such stars as Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, Maxwell was named MVP of the 1981 NBA Finals. Three years later, Maxwell scored 24 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in the decisive game-seven victory during the 1984 NBA Finals. Before the game, he told his teammates to "climb on my back, boys." Maxwell's colorful side was also on display in the series as he mocked second-year Laker forward James Worthy's inability to make free throws during overtime of game 4 by walking across the lane between free throws with his hands around his own neck, suggesting Worthy's choking under pressure.

He was traded with a draft pick on September 6, 1985 to the Los Angeles Clippers for center Bill Walton. He 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 from the NBA after the 1987-88 season, having scored 10,465 points and pulled down 5,261 rebounds over the course of 11 seasons-averages of 12 and a half points and 6.3 rebounds a game.

He was the 22nd former Celtic to have his jersey (number 31) retired by the Celtics on December 15, 2003.

He's now a radio broadcaster for WRKO AM in Boston, where he announces Boston Celtics games with the Sean Grande and lives in Weston, Massachusetts.

[edit] Personal

Maxwell received the nickname "Cornbread" from his college teammate Melvin Watkins after the pair went to see the movie Cornbread, Earl and Me,^[1] 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, interestingly enough, by future Lakers star/rival 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 NIT tournament in 1976, when, according to Watkins, "The New York media picked up on [the nickname]."

[edit] Notes

1. ^ "Cornbread, Earl, and Me" (1975) at IMDB, http://imdb.com/title/tt0072822/posters

[edit] External link

• Career stats at Basketball-reference.com