Hall of Fame
As an MVC student-athlete Maurice Cheeks was a four-year starter on the men’s basketball team at West Texas State (now West Texas A&M). Cheeks earned All-MVC honors three times and was selected his team’s MVP each of those seasons. As a collegiate player, he totaled 1,127 career points, 460 career field goals made with a 56.8 percent accuracy rate, 307 career free throws made, 453 career free throw attempts and 106 career games played -- all of those figures rank in the Top 10 all-time at West Texas State.
Cheeks averaged 16.8 points per game as a senior in 1976-77, shooting 56.8 percent from the floor while dishing out 212 assists (7.9/game).
He was selected in the 2nd round of the 1978 NBA Draft and was the 36th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. As an NBA player, he earned an NBA title with the 76ers (1983) and was a four-time NBA All-Star (1983, 1986, 1987, 1988). He also was a four-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection (1983–1986) and earned NBA All-Defensive second-team plaudits in 1987.
His No. 10 has been retired by the Philadelphia 76ers. In his NBA career he amassed 12,195 points, 7,392 assists and 2,310 steals. In March 2018 Cheeks was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
A current assistant coach with the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, Cheeks had previously served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons.