Maurice Cheeks

Maurice Edward Cheeks (born September 8, 1956) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He has also served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Detroit Pistons.

He attended West Texas State University from 1974 to 1978.

Cheeks was an all-Missouri Valley Conference player for three straight seasons, as he averaged 16.8 points per game and shot nearly 57% for his collegiate career.

He is the third leading scorer in WTSU/WTAM history.

After college, Cheeks was selected as the 36th pick in the second round of the 1978 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Cheeks was selected with the 36th pick in the second round of the 1978 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

He had his best seasons with the 76ers.

At the young age of 22 he gained a notable role on the 76ers, solidifying himself as the starting point guard and earning himself valuable minutes.

He played 15 years as a point guard in the NBA, including 11 with the Philadelphia 76ers, He earned four trips to the NBA All-Star Game, and he helped the 76ers to three trips to the NBA Finals in a four-year span in the early 1980s (1980, 1982, and 1983), including an NBA championship in 1983.

While starting at point guard for a Sixers team that at times included stars Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, and Charles Barkley, Cheeks was well regarded for his team play and defensive skills.

By his fifth year in the league, he was selected to his first All-Star appearance and had averaged 12.5 points, 6.9 assists, and 2.3 steals for the 1982–83 season.

The 76ers also had the best season in this era, having a 65–17 record which is the second-best season record in the 76ers franchise history.

They would go on to win the NBA championship that year, which was Cheeks' first and only championship.

He would be an integral part of the 76ers for the rest of his time in Philadelphia, however the 76ers failed to repeat the level of success that they reached in the 1982–83 season.

He was named to four straight NBA All-Defensive squads from 1983 to 1986, and earned a spot on the second team in 1987.

He would be selected to three more All-Star appearances from 1986 to 1988.

In the 1986 playoffs he averaged a playoff career high 20.8 points throughout the whole postseason.

In the 1986–87 season he would average a career high 15.6 points in what was considered the best season of his career.

The 76ers were also in playoff contention for every year that he was on the team except for the 1987–88 season.

However the 76ers were no longer elite title contenders and lost in the first round in the 1987 playoffs.

The following year they missed the playoffs in what was Cheeks' last all star appearance.

Cheeks played one more season for the 76ers; they were back in the playoffs but got swept in the first round by the New York Knicks.

In the 1989 off-season the Philadelphia 76ers traded Maurice Cheeks, Chris Welp, and David Wingate to the San Antonio Spurs for Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent.

At 33 years old, Cheeks was aging and in the twilight of his career but he still played well for the Spurs and averaged 10.9 points for his time in San Antonio.

He played 50 games for the club and was the starting point guard.

However he wasn't able to finish the 1989–90 season for the Spurs.

On February 21, 1990 Cheeks was traded to the New York Knicks for Rod Strickland.

Cheeks played the remainder of the season in New York, averaging 7.9 points in 31 games for the franchise.

The Knicks went 45–37 that year and made the 1990 playoffs, however they lost in the second round 1–4 to the Detroit Pistons.

The following year the Knicks made the playoffs and were swept by the Bulls in the first round.

In the 1991 off-season the New York Knicks traded Maurice Cheeks to the Atlanta Hawks for Tim McCormick and a 1994 first round draft pick (which later became Charlie Ward).

Cheeks' points average dropped drastically to 4.6 and he was no longer a starting calibre player.

In the second-to-last game of the 1991–92 season, while playing for the Atlanta Hawks against the visiting New York Knicks, Cheeks picked off four steals to surpass longtime Philadelphia teammate Julius Erving for the ABA and NBA steals record of 2,272.

In the same game, teammate Kevin Willis set the Atlanta Hawks season record for rebounds.

He became an unrestricted free agent in the 1992 off-season and did not re-sign with the Hawks.

On January 7, 1993 the New Jersey Nets signed Cheeks as a free agent.

He averaged a career-low 3.6 points for the season and he only played 35 games for the franchise.

Cheeks was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018.

Cheeks was born in Chicago, and attended DuSable High School.