My Little Dig into Maurice Cheeks and the Knicks
Okay, so the other day, the name Maurice Cheeks popped into my head alongside the Knicks. It felt a bit fuzzy, you know? Like, was that actually a thing? I mostly picture Cheeks running the point for Philly back in the day. Smooth player.
So, I decided to do my usual thing, kinda just follow that thread and see where it led. Didn’t grab any books or anything too serious, just sort of mulled it over first. My initial thought was, maybe he played a season or two in New York towards the end? But that didn’t feel quite right in my gut.
I spent a few minutes just thinking back. I remember Cheeks as a coach too, right? Portland, Philly again, Detroit maybe? Yeah, that sounds more like it. But the Knicks connection… still wasn’t clicking immediately.
Then I kinda mentally scanned the Knicks benches from the past couple of decades. Who was coaching, who was assisting? It took a little while, like sorting through old files in your head.
And then, bam! It hit me. He wasn’t the head coach, he was an assistant coach for the Knicks. Yeah, that was it. I started picturing him on the sidelines at the Garden, but not as the main guy.
- I recalled it was during that mid-2000s period.
- Lenny Wilkens was the head coach then, wasn’t he? Pretty sure Cheeks came in with him.
- It wasn’t for very long, though. Maybe just that one season?
So, I did a quick check, just to confirm my memory wasn’t playing tricks. Yep, found it. He was indeed an assistant for the Knicks, specifically for the 2003-2004 season under Lenny Wilkens. They made the playoffs that year, got swept by the Nets I think, but it was a short stint for Cheeks before he got the head coaching job back in Philly.
It’s funny how these bits of history stick around. Cheeks is obviously way more famous for his playing days and his time leading other teams. His Knicks chapter was really just a quick stopover, easy to forget unless you were paying close attention back then.
Anyway, that was my little practice session for the day. Just pulling on a thread of memory about Maurice Cheeks and the Knicks and seeing what unraveled. Satisfying to pin it down.
