“Find me a better all-white team” – Cedric Maxwell claims he played with the five best white basketball players originally appeared on Basketball Network.
When you think of the greatest players in NBA history, it’s almost inevitable that every face on the league’s metaphorical Mount Rushmore would be a black athlete – whether it’s Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Bill Russell, or Shaquille O’Neal.
Advertisement
However, there have been rare exceptions, according to Cedric Maxwell. Some of the finest white talents the league has ever seen have happened to be his teammates, and he didn’t shy away from boasting about them.
Maxwell’s all-time all-white starting five
Speaking on his podcast, Maxwell urged Rick Mahorn to name the five greatest white players he had played alongside. While Mahorn was quick to mention his former Bad Boy Pistons teammate Bill Laimbeer, he struggled to complete his list. Maxwell, on the other hand, proudly stated that he had shared the court with what could be considered the greatest ‘all-white’ starting five of all time.
“I played with the best all-white team ever. I got Larry Bird, Kevin McHale. I got John Havlicek… Dave Cowens and I got the guy you hate the most – Danny Ainge,” Maxwell told Mahorn.
Advertisement
“Find me a better all-white team. And Pete Maravich also, I played with him. So, my all-white team is one of the best all-white teams ever put together, right?… I thought this the other day, ‘Man, the team I played with, the white guys I played with, I don’t think there could ever be… I can’t think of a better one – a combination of white guys that played the game at that level,” Maxwell reminisced.
Maxwell witnessed Bird single-handedly transform the Boston Celtics franchise from being one of the worst in the East to a regular championship contender. Moreover, the latter’s legacy isn’t just about winning three MVPs, two Finals MVP honors and three titles but building a reputation of being one of the most flamboyant trash-talkers, scorers and playmakers at the forward position.
Then, there’s McHale. Though his brilliance was never at the center of attention due to the presence of Larry Legend, McHale carved out his own Hall of Fame career by winning two 6MOTY awards and six All-Defensive Team nods. This truly highlights his prospects of being one of the most underrated two-way forwards of all time.
Advertisement
Cowens, on the other hand, had a shorter career than the former two. But in 11 NBA campaigns, he won the ROY and MVP awards and even led the Celtics to two Larry O’Brien trophies in the mid-70s, all while racking up eight All-Star appearances. Havlicek’s resume is even more staggering. In 16 seasons, he was part of eight championship-winning Celtics teams, earning an All-NBA selection 11 times in his career.
Lastly, while Ainge’s resume might not be as legitimate as the other four, he played a pivotal role in helping the Celtics win championships in 1984 and 1986.
Maxwell was truly blessed
Of course, the modern-day NBA featured more European and worldwide players like Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic and Steve Nash, among more who could be ranked in the all-time list. But in Maxwell’s era, only a few players were fortunate enough to share the court with such a concentrated cluster of white talent, each of whom left a mark on the sport in one way or the other.
Advertisement
Furthermore, while plenty of otherworldly talent never gets to share the court with a genuine talent even once, Maxwell was fortunate enough to constantly have such players at his disposal, which truly gives him the right to boast.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 29, 2025, where it first appeared.