Vernon Maxwell Net Worth

What Is Vernon Maxwell's Net Worth?

Vernon Maxwell is an American former professional basketball player who has a net worth of $200 thousand. Unfortunately, as we detail throughout this article, Vernon filed for bankruptcy just a few years after retiring.

Vernon Maxwell is best known for his fiery personality, clutch shooting, and key role on the Houston Rockets' back-to-back NBA championship teams in the mid-1990s. Maxwell starred at the University of Florida before entering the NBA in 1988. Drafted by the Denver Nuggets in the second round, he was quickly traded to the San Antonio Spurs, where he began his professional career.

Maxwell's breakout came after joining the Houston Rockets in 1990. Nicknamed "Mad Max" for his intensity and fearlessness, he became a reliable scorer and tough defender in the backcourt alongside Hakeem Olajuwon's dominance inside. He was especially known for his three-point shooting and clutch performances in big games. In 1994, Maxwell was a starter on the Rockets team that captured the franchise's first NBA championship, and he played a valuable role again during the team's repeat run in 1995.

After leaving Houston, Maxwell played for several teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets, and Seattle SuperSonics, before retiring in 2001. He finished his 13-year NBA career with averages of 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, leaving a legacy as a passionate competitor and fan favorite.

1998 Bankruptcy Filing & Financial Problems

Despite earning tens of millions during his NBA career, Vernon Maxwell's financial life unraveled in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 1995, he reportedly lot a home in Houston to foreclosure. In 1996, he was sued by a woman who claimed he had knowingly infected her with herpes two years earlier. Maxwell failed to respond to the lawsuit, and a judge entered a default judgment ordering him to pay $592,000 in damages.

The following year, in 1997, Maxwell's legal and financial troubles began spilling into his career. Reports surfaced that he had faked injuries to avoid playing games in Orlando and Miami, where warrants had been issued for his arrest due to unpaid child support. These issues foreshadowed the deeper financial collapse that was soon to follow.

In September 1998, Maxwell filed for bankruptcy protection in Georgia. He filed just one day before a court was set to enforce the $592,000 judgment from the herpes case. Bankruptcy filings revealed that two of his largest creditors were luxury car leasing companies, including one that had financed a Ferrari. The picture painted was of a player who had earned substantial wealth but struggled with poor financial management, mounting legal bills, and personal turmoil.

His difficulties did not end there. By 2004, Maxwell's child support problems had escalated dramatically. He was arrested on kidnapping and aggravated assault charges in Georgia and extradited to Florida, where he served five days in jail for failure to pay more than $150,000 in child support to the mother of one of his children. At the time, Maxwell had been ordered to pay $5,043 per month but had allegedly stopped making payments in May 2001. His lawyer argued that Maxwell's financial means had collapsed after his divorce and that he no longer had the income to support such obligations, but prosecutors pointed to a long pattern of neglect.

Early Life

Vernon Maxwell was born on September 12, 1965, in Gainesville, Florida. He attended Buchholz High School and played for the high school basketball and football teams. As a senior, Vernon was named the Mr. Basketball of the state of Florida and was also an all-state defensive back in football.

Maxwell went to the University of Florida on an athletic scholarship and played for coach Norm Sloan's Gators basketball team from 1984 to 1988. The 6-foot-4 guard left school after four years while holding 15 Gators team records. He averaged over 20 points per game during both his junior and senior seasons, but Florida erased these points scored due to a scandal in which Vernon took money from agents and accepted a free round-trip ticket to go to a basketball camp.

NBA Career

In the 1988 NBA Draft, Maxwell was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 47th overall pick. That same day, he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs for a second-round pick the next year. He played for the San Antonio Spurs from 1988 to 1990, the Houston Rockets from 1990 to 1995, the Philadelphia 76ers from 1995 to 1996, the San Antonio Spurs from 1996 to 1997, the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets in 1998, the Sacramento Kings in 1999, the Seattle SuperSonics from 1999 to 2000, the Philadelphia 76ers in 2000, and the Dallas Mavericks in 2001. Maxwell won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets (1994, 1995).

Over his 13-year career, Vernon averaged 12.8 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, and 3.4 assists per game. He established himself as a clutch three-point shooter and is among just nine players in history to score 30 points in a single quarter. He accomplished the feat in the January 26, 1991, game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in which he amassed 51 total points.

Career Earnings

Over the course of his 13-year NBA career, Vernon Maxwell earned approximately $13 million in salary. While that total may seem modest compared to today's NBA contracts, it reflected the financial landscape of the league in the late 1980s and 1990s, before television deals and collective bargaining agreements pushed average player salaries into the tens of millions.

Maxwell entered the league in 1988 as a second-round pick of the Denver Nuggets and began earning league-minimum type salaries with the San Antonio Spurs, who acquired his rights on draft day. His pay increased steadily after he established himself as a starter and later a key contributor with the Houston Rockets. During his prime years in Houston, where he won back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995, Maxwell earned several million dollars in contracts that reflected his role as one of the team's most reliable perimeter scorers and defenders.

By the late 1990s, as he bounced between teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings, and Seattle SuperSonics, Maxwell's contracts became shorter and less lucrative, reflecting his diminished role and reputation as a volatile presence. His final paychecks came in the early 2000s from short stints with the Dallas Mavericks and a partial-season deal with Philadelphia, where he earned a prorated portion of a $1 million contract.

In total, Maxwell's NBA salary earnings added up to around $13 million before taxes and agent fees. While substantial by most standards, this sum was quickly eroded by legal judgments, child support obligations, and financial mismanagement, leaving Maxwell in bankruptcy only a few years after his retirement.

Controversy

Maxwell was the center of several behavioral incidents over the years. He was suspended for 10 games and fined $20,000 for running into the stands and punching a heckling fan during a game at Portland in February 1995.

In April 1995, Vernon feigned a hamstring injury and was given a leave of absence after the first game of the playoffs. He later admitted he was frustrated with not playing after the Rockets acquired Hall-of-Fame guard Clyde Drexler, which led to the end of his tenure with the team.

In August 1995, Maxwell was pulled over after running a red light shortly after signing with Philadelphia. Police found a bag of marijuana on the floor of his car, and he pleaded no contest and posted a $25,000 bond, but lost the appeal. Three years later, while with the Hornets, a Texas judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Vernon was extradited to Houston, where he served a 90-day sentence.

In the late 1990s, Vernon stood trial on an accusation of knowingly giving a woman herpes.

In 2000, the Seattle SuperSonics fined Maxwell and Gary Payton for a locker room brawl on March 26th that injured two of their peacemaking teammates.

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