Tag: Maurice Cheeks

Why did the Chicago Bulls’ front office decide to shake up the team’s coaching staff?

Few thought that the focus of an overhaul would start with Chicago head coach Billy Donovan’s bench of assistant coaches.

Why did the Chicago Bulls’ front office decide to shake up the team’s coaching staff? Chicago GM Arturas Karnisovas made it clear that change was coming to the organization after a lack of moves doomed yet another NBA season for the Bulls at the start of the 2024 offseason.

But few people were thinking that the focus of that overhaul would start with Chicago head coach Billy Donovan’s bench of assistant coaches, instead expecting some veteran names from the Bulls roster to be on the move. Instead, we have seen Chris Fleming and Mo Cheeks get let go by the front office and the hiring of former Washington Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. as an assistant, and former Los Angeles Clippers assistant Dan Craig as lead assistant.

The hosts of the NBC Sports Boston “Bulls Talk” podcast recently weighed in on why this was the case.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.

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A list of the top 10 assist leaders in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history

Here is a list of the top 10 assist leaders in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the doldrums of the offseason here in the NBA, now is the time to look back on history and acknowledge some greats in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history before looking ahead to the excitement of a new season.

In this edition, we look at some of the best passers in Sixers history: the guys who led the team on offense making sure everybody is in the right position so the offense can run smoothly.

Most of the players on this list are point guards, but some are bigger players, and some focused mostly on scoring while out on the floor. Here is the list of the top 10 assist leaders for the Sixers:

Maurice Cheeks leaving Thunder bench to join Billy Donovan in Chicago

Mo Cheeks will continue to be by Billy Donovan’s side, even as the coach heads north to Chicago.

Billy Donovan took his talents to Chicago, and now, longtime Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks will follow.

Cheeks, who has served as an assistant coach for the Thunder under both Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan, has spent nine seasons with the franchise. He was thought by many to be a candidate to succeed Donovan, but instead, will follow the former coach to Chicago where the duo will hope to lead the Bulls back to the postseason.

The news was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, and comes at a point where the Thunder are now the only team in the league to not have a head coach installed.

Cheeks originally joined the Thunder coaching staff under Scott Brooks back in 2009 after he was fired as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in December 2008. He would spend four years with the team before departing to assume the head coach position for the Detroit Pistons.

Cheeks would eventually return to Oklahoma City where he spent the last five years with Donovan, and now, will join him in Chicago.

The departure, at least in theory, takes another qualified potential head coach off the board for Sam Presti, though the perception has long been that the Thunder will opt for a younger head coach who won’t command too hefty of a salary.

Charles Barkley advocates for Maurice Cheeks to be next Sixers coach

Charles Barkley advocates for Maurice Cheeks to become the next coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the market for a new coach after firing Brett Brown on Monday afternoon after seven seasons on the job. Now, the search is on with Los Angeles Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue as the leading candidate.

Reacting to the news on NBA on TNT, former Sixers legend Charles Barkley advocated for another Sixers legend and one who actually used to coach the team as well: Maurice Cheeks.

Barkley on Cheeks:

It’s a good job, but I’ve got a name for you who I think should be the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, Maurice Cheeks. Come on back home, Maurice Cheeks. I think he’ll come back home. I think it will be great.

Cheeks was once a coach in Philadelphia for 3.5 seasons from 2006-2009 where he compiled a 122-147 record and led them to the playoffs in 2008. This was after the Sixers traded Allen Iverson to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller and Cheeks did a good job with a young team, but this is a different situation. It’s tough to see Cheeks succeeding with this team. [lawrence-related id=37158,37151,37141]

RAY: Your team had a run of great …

RAY: Your team had a run of great seasons but never won a championship. I think your last five seasons, the Bucks finished first in the conference. You had a great collection of players, including the ones who came in the trade for Kareem. Marques Johnson: Yeah, we had it going on. We started out green and kept growing. The only problem was that we either had to go through the Boston Celtics with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish (and later Dennis Johnson) and that crew, or the Philadelphia 76ers and Dr. J., Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks and Andrew Toney, aka. the Boston Strangler. The year that we were really primed to make a championship run, the Sixers had picked up Moses Malone in the offseason.

Sixers great Mo Cheeks ranked 7th best second-round pick in NBA history

Philadelphia 76ers great Maurice Cheeks is ranked as the 7th best second-round pick in the NBA.

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Maurice Cheeks out of West Texas A&M with the 36th overall pick in the 1978 NBA Draft hoping that he could eventually develop into a rotation player. After all, he was selected in Round 2 and those picks do not always pan out to be stars in the league.

However, Cheeks was different.

The 6-foot-1 dynamo would go on to average 12.2 points and 7.3 assists in his 11 seasons in Philadelphia and he was named to the All-Star team four times. He was also the starting point guard for the 1983 NBA championship team for the Sixers and he is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and steals.

For that type of effort, he was ranked by Bleacher Report as the 7th best second-round pick in NBA history.

B/R on Cheeks:

His two-way contributions were summed up well on the Sixers’ team website:

“Always in control, Cheeks knew when to make defenses pay for not respecting his own scoring ability, but getting those points was always in the flow of the offense. Despite that gentlemanly and equitable offensive disposition, Cheeks took the velvet gloves off when it came to defense. Don’t get things twisted. He played that nasty defense fairly, but it was nasty nonetheless. You can’t fully quantify defensive filthiness, but watching Maurice hunker down into his defensive stance was an imposing sight for opposing guards.”

Most of the accolades and attention understandably went to Erving, Malone and, later, Charles Barkley. But Cheeks was often the engine of those teams in Philly.

Cheeks’ contribution to the Sixers was so great that his number 10 jersey hangs in the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center and he has also been inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was a menace on either end of the floor and he was a guy who could step up and produce when called upon. [lawrence-related id=33216,33206,33200]

Sixers history: Mo Cheeks drops 26 points in Game 1 vs. Bucks in 1983

On this day in Philadelphia 76ers history, Maurice Cheeks and the Sixers picked up a big Game 1 victory.

With the NBA in an indefinite hiatus due to COVID-19, we continue our day-by-day look back at the history of the Philadelphia 76ers. We continue down our path into Sixers history every day as we look to fill the void left by the absence of basketball.

This takes us all back to the title run of 1983 with the Sixers hosting the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. They had just finished off a sweep of the New York Knicks in Round 2 of the playoffs to complete the first part of Moses Malone’s “Fo’ Fo’ Fo'” prediction and they had now turned their attention to the Bucks. It was time to get down to business.

May 8, 1983

The Sixers welcomed in one of the most talented teams in the league in the Bucks led by Marques Johnson, Sidney Moncrief, Paul Pressey, and Bob Lanier while also having some solid bench pieces. The Sixers would have to bring their A-game if they were to get this one done and they got some help from Maurice Cheeks in this one.

The All-Star point guard dropped 26 points on 12-for-18 shooting with seven assists and six rebounds as the Sixers pulled out a 111-109 thriller over Milwaukee to take Game 1. Andrew Toney added 22 points and five assists and Julius Erving had 19 in support of a big game from their point guard.

As everybody knows, the Sixers were able to dispose of the Bucks fairly quickly, but that will come on another day. As for now, enjoy the memory of the last great title run for the Sixers. [lawrence-related id=30647,30640,30622]

Building the Philadelphia 76ers all-time team of franchise history

We are now building the all-time team in Philadelphia 76ers franchise history.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a franchise filled with success and a lot of history that the organization can be proud of. When one is tasked to put together an all-time team in Sixer history–meaning filling all 13 active spots on a roster–it’s a challenge.

To put together such a team, you have to go back and sift through a lot of history. We ranked the top five players at each position in the franchise’s history and we will be using those as a guide to help us with building this team.

With that said, let’s jump into it!

Point guard: Maurice Cheeks

Cheeks is the prototypical point guard. He is the quarterback of a gym offensively and he was terrific defensively as well. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists and steals and he was a 4-time All-Star in Philadelphia. He doesn’t need to score all that much, though he will if he has to, but as long as he’s setting up his teammates, then he will be content.

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Shooting guard: Allen Iverson

Now that the team has its pass-first point guard, it now needs its scoring machine next to him in the backcourt. Iverson was something special despite standing at just 6-feet tall. He led the league in scoring four times in Philadelphia and he is second in franchise history in points behind only Hal Greer. Cheeks and Iverson would be a scary backcourt.

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Small forward: Julius Erving

Was there any other real choice? The good doctor is Sixers basketball. He’s in the top 10 in franchise history in points, steals, assists, blocks, and rebounds and he averaged a cool 22.0 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Sixers. He led Philadelphia to a title in 1983.

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Power forward: Charles Barkley

Sir Charles would have actually been terrific in today’s era. He could truly play in any era as he was physical, he could shoot it a bit, and he was a beast on the glass. In terms of Sixers history, he’s fifth in franchise history in points and he’s third in rebounds.

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Center: Wilt Chamberlain

Chamberlain was incredible during his time with the Sixers. He won an MVP in all three of his full seasons in Philadelphia and he led the franchise to a title in 1967. There was no other legitimate option to choose here in the franchise’s history.

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Bench

Hal Greer

Every good team needs that microwave scorer off the bench and that’s what Greer can do. You don’t start him over Iverson, but to have him come off the bench and focus on what he does best, which is scoring, would be a nice addition to have. He is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer after all.

Moses Malone

This team would be invalid if Malone was not on it. He was the Finals MVP of the 1983 title team and he was the big piece that the team was missing in order to help Erving bring a title to Philadelphia. He was so sized and skilled at the position and he was such a good player in Sixers history.

Andrew Toney

Affectionately nicknamed “The Boston Strangler”, Toney was a nuisance for teams on either end of the floor to deal with. He was terrific on the offensive end as well as being one of the more elite defenders in the league at his position. He was an All-Star twice with the Sixers and was a key piece of the ’83 team.

Billy Cunningham

Cunningham was nicknamed “The Kangaroo Kid” as he was so energetic and he did what he had to in order to help the team win. Cunningham 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds and he was an All-Star four times with the Sixers. He was also the perfect complement to Chamberlain and Greer on the team’s title-winning team in ’67.

Dolph Schayes

You have to dig deep into the annals of Sixers history to find Schayes’ contributions. He played for the Syracuse Nationals from 1949-1963 before the franchise became the Sixers and he played a final season in Philadelphia. He averaged 18.5 points and 12.1 rebounds while being named an All-Star 12 times. He also led the Nationals to a title in 1955.

Joel Embiid

Why not have one of the more dominant players in the game on the team? Embiid is in the middle of his fourth season in Philadelphia and he’s been named an All-Star three times while averaging 24.1 points and 11.5 rebounds along with 3.1 assists. He has done enough to warrant a spot here.

Ben Simmons

Likewise, Simmons has accomplished much in his short career so far. In three seasons, he has a Rookie of the Year award, two All-Star appearances, and he has garnered 28 triple-doubles which is good for second in franchise history behind only Chamberlain.

Andre Iguodala

To round out the roster, we are throwing in one of the more well-rounded players in the history of the franchise. Iguodala averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while making an All-Star appearance in 2012 for the Sixers.

Coach: Larry Brown

Any good team needs a coach. The choice would have been Cunningham as he was actually the coach of the 1983 title team, but he is a player on this roster so we didn’t want to give him both duties. Brown compiled a 255-205 record in Philadelphia and he won the Coach of the Year award in 2001 when the Sixers reached the Finals. [lawrence-related id=29527,29519,29510]

Sixers start one, bench one, cut one: Mo Cheeks, Ben Simmons, Hal Greer

We are playing a Philadelphia 76ers version of start one, bench one, cut one during the time in quarantine.

With the NBA in an infinite quarantine right now with still no clear return date at the moment, we are going to try and pass the time with a little game of start one, bench one, cut one Philadelphia 76ers style.

Yes, we are going to roll with this game starting with the Sixers point guards. Friday’s contestants are Maurice Cheeks, Ben Simmons, and Hal Greer who are a few of the best players in the franchise’s history regardless of position.

We will go with our choices and then you, the fans, can give your choices with us on social media. So, let’s dive into it!

Start: Maurice Cheeks

We start Cheeks in this case because he is the more complete point guard. He is the all-time leader in franchise history in assists and steals and he was the leader on the 1983 title team. There wasn’t much Cheeks couldn’t do out on the floor and he was an All-Star four times in his career with the Sixers as he is, currently, the best point guard in the franchise’s history. He gets the starting nod in this case.

Bench: Ben Simmons

Yes, we are rolling with Simmons over Greer in this case just because he can do a bit more. He’s a 6-foot-10 point guard who can score at will around the basket, rebound with the best of them, and defend with the best of them as he can defend 1-through-5. Obviously, his jump shot is holding him back, but he does almost everything else at an elite level and he could be the franchise’s best point guard if he keeps improving. We have to keep him on the team.

Cut: Hal Greer

Yes, we are cutting the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. This is no slight at Greer at all as he was a huge part of the franchise’s title in 1967 and a franchise great, but in this current group, Simmons makes more sense to keep. He is one of the best players in the game regardless of position and he is an elite athlete at this level.

Who would you go with for your choices? Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook with your choices. [lawrence-related id=29207,29190,29193]