Cedric Bryan Maxwell (born November 21, 1955) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player now in

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...

. Nicknamed "Cornbread", he played 11 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), and played a key role in two championships with the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. After a college career in which he led the UNC Charlotte 49ers to an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1977, he was drafted by the

. After coming off the bench his rookie year, he was elevated to a starting

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

position for the 1978–1979 season, a disappointing 29–53 team on which Maxwell was the lone bright spot. The following year,

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...

joined the Celtics, and the team started a resurgence that saw them become one of the dominant teams of the 1980s. Maxwell and Bird were joined in the 1980–1981 season by veteran starting center

Robert Parish Robert Lee Parish (born August 30, 1953) is an American former professional basketball player. A 7'1" Center (basketball), center, nicknamed "the Chief", Parish played for four teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1976 to 199 ...

and rookie forward Kevin McHale, a year in which the team won the NBA championship and Maxwell was named Finals MVP. Maxwell and McHale would compete for the starting

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

position over the next several seasons, with McHale winning the starting job and Maxwell being traded to the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The ...

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 The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

, 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 forward/ center for the UNC Charlotte 49ers. Among the 49ers, Maxwell ranks 6th all-time in points scored and his No. 33 jersey was retired in 1977, when he led UNC Charlotte to the NCAA Final Four. Upon completion of his career at Charlotte, Maxwell was the 12th overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft. He was drafted by the

, where he played for eight of his eleven seasons. During his time at UNC Charlotte, he was initiated in Omega Psi Phi fraternity via the Epsilon Zeta chapter.

Professional career

Maxwell made an impact in his second season with the Celtics. While

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

was mired in an otherwise awful

1978–79 NBA season The 1978–79 NBA season was the 33rd season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Seattle SuperSonics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Washington Bullets 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals, a rematch of the p ...

, as they awaited

's decision to sign with the franchise, the second-year

averaged 19.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Celtics would go just 29–53 on the year, but the young Maxwell's potential, along with the promising addition of Bird and others, set the stage for what would become an NBA dynasty. 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 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. Maxwell also made fun of Kurt Rambis prior to Game 4 of the 1984 Finals, wearing Rambis's trademark glasses and inadvertently missing a long range shot in front of loyal Rambis fans known as the Rambis Youth. The following season, after an injury, Maxwell lost his starting role to Kevin McHale, who had spent two seasons coming off the bench and was in the process of winning his second consecutive Sixth Man of the Year. Maxwell was traded, with a draft pick, on September 6, 1985, to the

for center Bill Walton. Maxwell spent a season and a half with the Clippers before being dealt to the

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 WBZ-FM in Boston, where he has announced Boston Celtics games with Sean Grande since 2001 and lives in

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was also a frequent co-host on WEEI's sports talk radio shows, such as '' The Big Show'' with former Celtics TV announcer Glenn Ordway, before Ordway parted with the station. He made guest appearances with the successor program ''Salk & Holley''. In June 2013, Grande and Maxwell, better known in Boston as Grande and Max, began co-hosting a new show, ''Celtics Summer Cooler'', a weekly offseason update on the Celtics. Maxwell came under fire for comments he made on the air during a game in 2007. Unhappy with the officiating of referee Violet Palmer, he told listeners that Palmer should "go back to the kitchen" and "make me some bacon and eggs." Maxwell apologized during a subsequent broadcast. 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'', 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 he nickname"

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , , , 16.8 , , .538 , , , , .752 , , 5.3 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , , , 37.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .584* , , , , .802 , , 9.9 , , 2.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 80 , , 34.3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .609* , , , , .787 , , 8.8 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 81 , , 33.7 , , .588 , , .000 , , .782 , , 6.5 , , 2.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.8 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left, , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 73 , , 33.2 , , .548 , , .000 , , .747 , , 6.4 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left, , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 71 , , 28.5 , , .499 , , .000 , , .812 , , 5.3 , , 2.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , 78 , , 31.3 , , .532 , , .167 , , .753 , , 5.8 , , 2.6 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 51 , , 26.2 , , .533 , , .000 , , .831 , , 4.2 , , 1.8 , , 0.6 , , 0.3 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers , 76 , , 72 , , 32.3 , , .475 , , .000 , , .795 , , 8.2 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.4 , , 14.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", L.A. Clippers/

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, 81 , , 31 , , 24.3 , , .530 , , .000 , , .775 , , 5.4 , , 2.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.2 , , 10.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 71 , , 0 , , 11.9 , , .468 , , .000 , , .769 , , 2.5 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 3.8 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 835 , , 537 , , 28.5 , , .546 , , .053 , , .784 , , 6.3 , , 2.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.5 , , 12.5

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9, , , , 35.6, , .634, , , , .754, , 10.0, , 2.1, , 0.6, , 1.1, , 18.2 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

† , style="text-align:left;",

, 17, , , , 35.2, , .580, , , , .818, , 7.4, , 2.7, , 0.7, , 0.9, , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1982 , style="text-align:left;",

, 12, , , , 32.1, , .517, , , , .714, , 7.3, , 2.2, , 1.5, , 0.9, , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7, , , , 35.1, , .527, , , , .842, , 7.3, , 3.3, , 0.6, , 0.6, , 12.9 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 1984† , style="text-align:left;",

, 23, , , , 32.7, , .503, , .000, , .779, , 5.2, , 2.4, , 1.0, , 0.3, , 11.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 20, , 0, , 11.9, , .488, , , , .791, , 2.4, , 0.4, , 0.5, , 0.1, , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10, , 0, , 17.7, , .529, , .000, , .743, , 3.3, , 1.7, , 0.4, , 0.0, , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1988 , style="text-align:left;",

, 4, , 0, , 3.8, , .500, , , , , , 0.3, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 0.5 , - , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 102 , , 0 , , 26.8 , , .545 , , .000 , , .777 , , 5.4 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 10.9

References

External links

nba.com historical playerfile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Cedric 1955 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American radio sports announcers Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina Boston Celtics announcers Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Charlotte 49ers men's basketball players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Clippers players NBA players with retired numbers Power forwards Sportspeople from Weston, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Kinston, North Carolina

College career

Professional career

Career after the NBA

Nickname

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links