Maurice Cheeks
From Hoopedia
| Maurice Cheeks | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Current position | ||
| Title | Assistant coach | |
| Biographical information | ||
| Born | September 8, 1956 Chicago, Illinois | |
| Nationality |  American
| |
| Career information | ||
| Record (W-L) | 248-286 | |
| Championships | none | |
| Career | 2001-present | |
| Coaching career | ||
| 2001-2005 | Portland Trail Blazers | |
| 2005-2008 | Philadelphia 76ers | |
| 2009-present | Oklahoma City Thunder (asst. coach) | |
| Career highlights and awards | ||
 Cheeks playing for the 76ers. | ||
| No. 10, 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point guard | ||
| Personal information | ||
| Born | September 8, 1956 Chicago, Illinois | |
| Nationality | American
| |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in | |
| Listed weight | 180 lbs | |
| High school | Du Sable (Chicago, Illinois) | |
| Career information | ||
| College | West Texas | |
| NBA Draft | 1978 / Round: 2 / Pock: 36th | |
| Selected by the Philadelphia 76ers | ||
| Pro career | 1978-1993 | |
| Career history | ||
| 1978-1989 | Philadelphia 76ers | |
| 1989-1990 | San Antonio Spurs | |
| 1990-1991 | New York Knicks | |
| 1991-1992 | Atlanta Hawks | |
| 1992-1993 | New Jersey Nets | |
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
| Profile at NBA.com | ||
Maurice Edward "Mo" Cheeks (born September 8, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player and current assistant coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association, having been hired on May 23, 2005 and fired on December 13, 2008. He was head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from the start of the 2001–02 season until March 2, 2005, when he was fired from the position. While playing in the NBA, the 6'1" point guard played for five different teams.
Early Life and College
Cheeks was born in Chicago and attended DuSable High School. 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 currently the third leading scoring in WTSU history.
Professional Career
After college, Cheeks was selected as the 36th pick in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. Cheeks 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 earn three trips to the NBA Finals in a four-year span in the early 1980s (1980, 1982, and 1983), including one NBA championship in 1983. While starting at point guard for a Sixers team that at times included stars such as Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney, and Charles Barkley, Cheeks was well-regarded for his unselfish team play and excellent defensive skills. As a result, he was named to four straight NBA all-defensive squads from 1983–86, and then earned a spot on the second team in 1987.
In NBA history, Cheeks ranks third all-time in steals and eighth all-time in assists. At the time of his retirement from the NBA in 1993, Cheeks was the NBA all-time leader in steals and ranked fifth all-time in assists. He averaged 11.7 points per game for his career and notched over 2 steals per contest.
Coaching Career
After retirement, Cheeks spent one year coaching in the Continental Basketball Association, then spent the next seven seasons as an NBA assistant coach. He worked for the Philadelphia 76ers under three different head coaches from 1994 to 2001, and he was an instrumental part of the 2001 Philadelphia team that reached the NBA Finals. In 2001, he was hired as Portland Trail Blazers head coach. He led the team to two playoff berths in four years as coach, but could not get past the first round. He was fired after a poor start to the 2004–05 campaign.
In 2005, Cheeks was named as head coach of the 76ers. Maurice Cheeks was popular among Sixers fans because of his eleven year tenure with the Sixers, during which he helped guide the Sixers to the 1983 NBA championship. However, he missed the playoffs in each of his first two seasons.
On February 20, 2007, the 76ers extended Cheeks' contract one year despite his losing record as coach.
At the beginning of the 2007–2008 season, expectations were low and the 76ers were picked to finish last in the Conference by many prognosticators. The Sixers, however, made the playoffs for the first time in Cheeks' tenure as the 7th seed before losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
On April 25, 2003, during a game between the Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks, Cheeks aided 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert in singing the National anthem. After Gilbert forgot the words at "At the twilight's last gleaming", Cheeks rushed over to help her and they finished it together, as the entire Rose Garden Arena crowd sang with them. Cheeks and Gilbert received a standing ovation after the song was over.
Though he enjoyed a mostly successful tenure as the coach of the Blazers and was also a popular figure among fans and the media in Portland, Cheeks was not entirely free of criticism. Certain media members seriously questioned his coaching aptitude and his tactical knowledge for the game. Though his players had better than average talent, the team often looked out of sorts and lacked discipline on and off the court. Unlike most coaches who roam the sidelines for the entire game shouting instructions to their players or lobbying the referees, Cheeks rarely left the bench during games. This prompted some media members to question if he ever called plays for his team. The general consensus among media and fans was that although Cheeks lacked a technical aptitude for coaching the game, he was able to make up for it by being able to motivate his players to play hard for him every game, certainly no small feat in a league full of young millionaires.
There is a photo of Cheeks on the last page of the NBA Live 2004 instruction manual for Hardwood Classics jerseys. His jersey is also in the EA Sports Hall Of Fame feature.
On December 13, 2008, the 76ers fired Cheeks' after a 9–14 start. Assistant general manager Tony DiLeo was appointed interim coach.
Categories: NBA Coaches | CBA (USA) Coaches | NBA Players | College Players (Men) | Players From Chicago | Philadelphia 76ers | New York Knickerbockers | San Antonio Spurs | Atlanta Hawks | New Jersey Nets | Portland Trail Blazers | West Texas A&M Buffaloes | Players Who Won An NBA Championship | Players Who Made An ABA/NBA All Star Game | Players Who Made An NBA All Star Game | People Whose Number Was Retired (NBA)
