Like most of us, Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks hasn’t been able to get his full basketball fix over the past two months. Fortunately, ESPN made the decision to move up the release and airing of their 10-part documentary entitled The Last Dance which chronicled the rise of Michael Jordan and the birthing of the Chicago Bulls dynasty.
Cheeks, whose NBA playing career ended after the 1992-93 NBA season, experienced Jordan’s rise first-hand. Cheeks spent the first 11 years of his NBA career as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. A member of the 1983 championship team, the Hall of Famer made four All-Star teams, three of which he overlapped with Jordan.
Before the Bulls rose as a power in the Eastern Conference, though, led by Julius Irving, Moses Malone and Cheeks, the Sixers were a perennial contender. That gives Cheeks a rather unique perspective.
Ranking fifth all-time in steals, Cheeks has been a fixture in the coaching world since he played his final game in 1993. Like most of his contemporaries, the documentary brought back some vivid memories.
Cheeks spoke with The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto about his memories of Jordan.
“I don’t think people that played against him and watching this realize the level of competitor he was… When you’re watching this, you can see it. But when you’re playing, maybe somebody playing against him could see it, but I don’t know. He was on a whole different level than most people are used to.”
Cheeks, who happened to grow up in Chicago, knew that there was something special about Jordan. Although the two only met in the playoffs once (in 1991, when Cheeks was in the twilight of his career), the Chicagoan knew that Jordan and the Bulls were destined for greatness. Not even he knew that he would eventually witness the rise of one of basketball’s greatest dynasties.
“You knew at some point they were going to be good because (Jordan) was that good,” Cheeks said. “Six championships? I don’t know if anybody ever thought that.”
As the NBA tries to figure out how they can complete the 2019-20 season, the basketball community was transfixed by the documentary showing the rise of Michael Jordan.
Cheeks, though, experienced it first-hand.