NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME MEMBER

#10 Maurice Cheeks - G

Maurice Cheeks Career NBA Stats 1978-1993
G
FGA
FGM
FG%
PTS
PPG
3PTA
3PTM
3PT%
FTA
FTM
FT% AST
APG
REB
RPG
BLK
STL
1,101
9,374
4,906
52.3
12,195
11.1
204
52
25.5
2,938
2,331
79.3
7,392
6.7
3,088
2.8
294
2,310
 

 

Maurice Edward 'Mo' Cheeks was born on September 8, 1956 in Chicago, IL. He is the son of Marjorie and Moses Cheeks. He was raised in the South Side area of Chicago, and basketball became the sport he excelled at by playing with the neighborhood kids.

 

 

Cheeks attended DuSable High School. He wasn’t highly touted coming out of high school, but he was able to get a scholarship to play for West Texas State.

 

Maurice Cheeks College Career Stats and Notes

Cheeks played at West Texas State from 1974-78. He averaged 11 points and 4 assists per game over his college career. He was an All-MVC selection from 1976-78.

 

Awards and Achievements
MVP
All-NBA
All-Star Selections
1983, 1986, 1987, 1988
Scoring Titles
NBA Finals MVP
Achievements

NBA Champion

1982-83

NBA All Defensive First Team

1983, 1984, 1985, 1986

NBA All Defensive Second Team

1987

 

 

Maurice Cheeks NBA Career Stats and Notes

Cheeks were selected 36th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He was part of three eastern conference championship teams in the early 80s. The 76ers lost their first two trips to the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers before finally breaking through and sweeping them to claim the 1983 NBA title. Cheeks spent 11 years in Philly before being traded to the Spurs in 1989.

After one year with the Spurs Cheeks would play for 3 more teams in a span of 3 years: New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and New Jersey Nets. In 1993, Cheeks retired. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

 

Maurice Cheeks and the 1980s Philadelphia 76ers

Cheeks ran point on a Philadelphia 76ers squad that battled with the titans of the NBA in the early 1980s. Led by Hall of Famers Cheeks, Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and Moses Malone, the 76ers eliminated the Boston Celtics two times out of their three trips to the NBA Finals. They squared off against the Los Angeles Lakers all three times, winning the final series in 1983. Although Cheeks wasn’t a high scorer, his defense was one of the best during the entire decade. Between 1983-87, Cheeks made First Team All-Defense four times, with a second team selection in 1987. He average more than 2 steals per game for 10 straight seasons, with a career high 2.6 per game in the 1986-87 season.

 

 

List of Basketball Hall of Fame Members