Greatest unsung hero in every NBA team’s history

Philadelphia 76ers: Maurice Cheeks

This was another tricky selection, mainly because Maurice Cheeks was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Much like his contemporary Dennis Johnson, Cheeks benefitted from playing alongside first-ballot Hall of Fame talent. Consequently, nobody viewed Cheeks as the best player on those Philadelphia 76ers teams.

While it’s true that Cheeks wasn’t the most prolific scorer on those 76ers teams, as that honor often belonged to either Julius Erving, Doug Collins, or Moses Malone depending on the year, Cheeks contributed with timely playmaking and tough defense.

Take 36th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft, Cheeks spent his first 11 seasons with the 76ers, averaging 12.2 points and 7.3 assists per game with 87.7 win shares during his time with Philadelphia. While those stats don’t necessarily scream Hall of Famer, they also don’t tell the whole story.

For one thing, Cheeks was a better passer than his stats indicated. The fact that he averaged as many as he did with a paltry 15.7 usage rate lets you know how he made all of his passes count. This doesn’t even include the passes he made where a teammate of his missed the shot.

With other superstars on the roster, Cheeks didn’t need to have ball in his hand like a lot of the top point guards do in today’s game. He could make magic happen when he got out on a fast break.

Also, let’s not underscore how good this man was on defense. His tenacity and basketball IQ on that end of the floor often led to steals, which created ample fast break opportunities for him, Malone and Erving.

If Cheek’s numbers reflect that of an above-average role player, it’s because the 76ers had Erving and Malone and didn’t need him to fill a high-volume role. This was totally fine, since he had plenty of success in his own regard in 76ers uniform.