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The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 1978 NBA Draft coming off a tough loss to the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference Finals. They battled, but they could not get a handle on Elvin Hayes and Bob Dandridge as they bested Julius Erving and the Sixers in six games.
Philadelphia did not have a first-round pick in the draft and they had to wait until the 36th pick in Round 2 to make a selection. With that pick, they rolled with a man by the name of Maurice Cheeks out of West Texas A&M and he immediately made an impact.
He played 29.4 minutes per game as a rookie as he ran the show on offense. He was a guy who could score in double-figures consistently, but he would much rather make sure the offense runs smoothly and the Sixers definitely benefited from that. He became an All-Star for the first time in 1983 when he averaged 12.5 points, 6.9 assists, and 2.3 steals while helping the Sixers win a title.
Cheeks made three more All-Star games in Philadelphia before being traded to the San Antonio Spurs in 1989 in a deal that sent Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent to the Sixers. He then spent some with the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets before retiring in 1993.
He finished as Philadelphia’s all-time leader in assists and his number 10 jersey hangs in the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018. He coached the Sixers from 2005 through the beginning of the 2008-09 season. [lawrence-related id=38482,38479,38474]