"Damn near killed me": $4,000,000 ex-NBA champ hilariously recounts the time Hakeem Olajuwon slapped the soul out of him in Seattle

On Thursday, Houston Rockets star Vernon Maxwell opened up about an incident with his former teammate Hakeem Olajuwon during a podcast. The $4,000,000 ex-NBA champion (Celebrity Net Worth) hilariously recounted an incident with "The Dream" where he got slapped during a game in Seattle.

During a Feb. 27 episode of the "All the Smoke" podcast, co-host Matt Barnes asked Maxwell about the incident:

"Is there any truth to Hakeem slappin' the s**t outta you at halftime one time?" (45:05 onwards)

Quickly responding that there was "a lot of truth" to that story, Maxwell stated:

"Motherf**ker alot of truth to that s**t. Oh my goodness, that man hit me so *** damn hard. We was in Seattle. I'm having a bad first half, so I'm mad, and when I get mad, I used to spit, I'm walking, I'm spitting."

He said he was angry at his teammates for not passing him the ball and that Olajuwon tried to calm him down.

"So, Dream behind me, and Dream like, 'Maxie, what the f**k is you doing? That s**t's not professional, don't do that s**t, stop that s**t.' I was like, 'Dream, man, f**k that s**t, I am tired of you too.' Why would I say that s**t? That man slapped the s**t outta me, man, damn near killed me."

Maxwell was in the NBA for over 12 years and had reported career earnings of $13,190,000, according to Hoopshype.com. The guard signed his biggest contract with the Houston Rockets during his five-year stint with them between 1990 and 1995, with his largest annual earning being $1,833,000.

Vernon Maxwell on playing with Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson

During his appearance on the "All the Smoke" podcast, Vernon Maxwell discussed various topics about his era of the NBA. The hour-long discussion saw the former Rockets guard entertain audiences with his vivid stories, which included his altercations with players, fines from the NBA, and more

One such story revolved around two of his former teammates, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson, as co-host Matt Barnes asked Maxwell about his experience playing with the two legends:

"David's a quiet guy, you know?" Maxwell said. "Just come do his business, work hard, don't talk a lot, go home, a great teammate. A great individual, God-fearing man, good family man, that's David.

"Olajuwon, first couple of years when I was there in Houston before he became Muslim, he was kinda different. But once he became Muslim and got his life in order with Allah, that's when I knew we are going to win a championship." (26:11 onward)

Vernon and Hakeem won the NBA championship in back-to-back seasons with the Rockets as they became the only team to win a championship in between the Chicago Bulls' two three-peats.