After a lengthy wait, former Sixers player and coach Maurice Cheeks will finally — and deservedly — be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarwoski.
Cheeks will reportedly be inducted into the Class of 2018, which includes Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill.
The four-time All-star and five-time All-Defensive team selection played in 15 seasons, guiding the Sixers to their last championship in 1982-83.
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Never the flashiest player, Cheeks played a steady, all-around game, leaving behind an astonishing 52.3 career field goal percentage and was the NBA's all-time steals leader at the time of his retirement in 1993.
Cheeks spent his first 11 years with the Sixers, averaging 12.2 points, 7.3 assists, three rebounds and 2.3 steals per game during that span.
After retiring from the league in 1993, Cheeks turned his attention to coaching, catching on as a Sixers' assistant from 1994-00 before taking over as the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers from 2001-05.
Cheeks was fired following the 2005 season, opening the door for a return to Philly as the head coach. In four seasons at the helm, Cheeks went 122-147 including a playoff series loss to the Pistons in 2008.
NBA
Cheeks is currently in his third season as an assistant coach for the Thunder.
Despite his impressive numbers, Cheeks — appearing on NBC Sports Philadelphia's Zoo's Views podcast in March of 2017 — believed he wasn't worthy of the Hall of Fame.
“When I’m thinking about the Hall of Fame, I’m thinking about top echelon of players," Cheeks said. "I was never at the level of Julius Erving, I was never at the level of Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell. All these guys, I was never at that level and I get the numbers part of it, like assists and steals, I get all that. But when I think about those guys at that level, that’s why I don’t get disappointed that I’m not in there.
“When I think about those type of level of players, it just puts me in my place, where I think is rightfully the place."
Soon, his place will rightfully be among that top echelon, forever enshrined alongside Erving, Jordan and Chamberlain.