Vernon Maxwell destroyed Kobe Bryant one-on-one after a night out clubbing: "You can't stop me, young boy"
Kobe Bryant's pre-draft workout with the Philadelphia 76ers in the mid-1990s is part of basketball lore — a key moment when, or so the story goes, the young Black Mamba showed he was ready for the NBA.
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But the full story is more complicated than the myth suggests. Not every detail fits the picture of a perfect rise, as basketball author Roland Lazenby reveals in "Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant."
Bryant vs. Maxwell
To reach the top, you have to beat the best. For a high school player facing pro veterans, that's a tall order — but a young Bryant was determined to prove it. In the summer of 1995, he finally got his chance.
Sam Rines, Bryant's former AAU coach, was there to watch. He reportedly showed up several times, including the day his former player went head-to-head with 76ers player Vernon Maxwell.
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At first glance, that matchup might seem one-sided. But some context is key.
First, Kobe wasn't just any high schooler. In his senior year at Lower Merion, he had led the Aces to their first state title in more than five decades, averaging a remarkable double-double with 30.8 points and 12.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and nearly four blocks per game. The team finished 31-3, and many believed the then-teenager was ready to jump straight to the NBA — just like Kevin Garnett had the year before.
Secondly, Maxwell, usually a deadly scorer and sharpshooter, hadn't had the best preparation leading up to this workout. Rines explained why.
"I knew Vernon was out the night before," he recalled. "I saw him at a nightclub well past two or three in the morning."
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Related: "I think there needs to be clarification about a lot of things that happened" - Scottie Pippen on the need to continue calling out Michael Jordan
From setback to comeback
The stage was set: the relentless Black Mamba versus Mad Max, who was probably still recovering from a late night out. Despite that — call it a slight handicap — the latter dominated the matchup.
"He just got up the next morning and absolutely killed Kobe," recalled Rines, adding Maxwell was trash-talking nonstop while torching the high school sensation.
"He (Maxwell) was saying everything, like, 'You can't stop me, young boy.' Anything you can imagine," said the now Executive Director of RockTop Basketball.
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Kobe wasn't the first nor the last to feel the brunt of Vernon's skills. In the 1990s, the fiery 6'4" guard won two rings with the Houston Rockets, known for clutch shots, streaky scoring and leading the league twice in 2-pointers made.
Still, the soon-to-be NBA star was rattled.
"He (Kobe) didn't take it well, but you had to respect him because he was playing harder than I'd ever seen him play. That's when you knew Kobe was going to be a pro," recalled his former coach.
There was a silver lining, though. Bryant's redemption came the very next day — not against the main culprit, Maxwell, but another NBA pro, then-Los Angeles Lakers swingman Eddie Jones.
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According to Rines, Bryant dominated the 1989 Sixth Man of the Year in a five-on-five game, proving his toughness and readiness for the next level.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose — the key is to stand up and bounce back, just like the young Black Mamba did then.
Related: "'F—k the education! Go get your f—ng money'" - Vernon Maxwell claims he was one of the first to advise Kobe Bryant to skip college
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
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