Maurice Cheeks had a Hall of Fame career as a player. Since his playing days have ended, he has had a lengthy career as a coach at the NBA level.
The New York Knicks are fresh off back-to-back second-round appearances in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. It is the first time they won a playoff round in two straight years since 1999 and 2000. It has been reported that the 67-year-old Cheeks will be joining head coach Tom Thibodeau’s staff with the Knicks as an assistant for the 2024-25 season.
The New York Knicks are planning to hire Maurice Cheeks as an assistant on Tom Thibodeau’s coaching staff, sources tell ESPN. Cheeks — a Hall of Fame guard — has been a three-time head coach in the NBA and most recently on Billy Donovan’s staffs in Chicago and Oklahoma City. pic.twitter.com/G2SopDTJLZ
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 13, 2024
Basketball Hall Of Famer To Join Knicks As Assistant
Maurice Cheeks’ Coaching Career Continues With Knicks
Cheeks’ last season as a player in the league was the 1992-93 season. In 28 of the following 31 seasons since he last played, he has had a coaching role in the NBA either as a head coach or as an assistant. For the last nine seasons, Cheeks has been an assistant under head coach Billy Donovan. The last four of those came with the Chicago Bulls, and the first five came with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
From the 2001-02 to the 2004-05 seasons, Cheeks was the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. During that tenure, he finished with a winning record of 162-139. Portland made the playoffs in the first two of those seasons, losing in the first round both times. Cheeks moved on to become the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers for the following four seasons (2005-06 to 2008-09). Cheeks wasn’t as successful going 122-147 in that time. Philadelphia did qualify for the playoffs in the 2007-08 season, losing in the first round.
Cheeks agreed to become the head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2013, but he didn’t last the entire 2013-14 season. The team fired him after a 21-29 record. Cheeks started his coaching career as an assistant with Philadelphia, and he was also an assistant under Scott Brooks with the Thunder.
Hall Of Fame Playing Career By Cheeks
It took a while, but Cheeks received the ultimate honor of being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. The six-foot-one point guard had a 15-year playing career spanning from 1978-79 to 1992-93.
During his Hall of Fame playing career, Cheeks was named an All-Star four times. A pest on the defensive end, he made four-straight All-Defensive First Teams from 1982-83 to 1985-86 (Second Team in 1986-87). He had Defensive Player of the Year finishes of third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth. Those accolades and accomplishments all came with the 76ers, a team Cheeks played for his first 11 seasons. In the 1983 NBA Finals, Philadelphia swept the Los Angeles Lakers earning Cheeks a championship ring.
At the end of his career, Cheeks also suited up for the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and New Jersey Nets. In 1,101 career games, he posted averages of 11.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 2.1 steals. He ranks sixth in NBA history with 2,310 career steals and 16th with 7,392 assists.
