Current Sixers should use Maurice Cheeks Hall of Fame induction as motivation

Players on the current Sixers roster can learn a ton from the Hall of Fame career Maurice Cheeks put together following his official induction on Friday.

Friday was a special evening for the Sixers and their fans after Maurice Cheeks was officially inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a result of 15 amazing seasons in the NBA.

Things may not have turned out well for Cheeks and Philadelphia back in 2008 when the team made the tough decision to fire him as head coach in the middle of his fourth season with the position, but fans will always cherish the career he had as a player.

Remember early in the 80’s when the Sixers were one of the top contenders in the NBA by making three appearances to the NBA finals in four season, one of which they happened to take home the championship in 1983? Without question, a strong argument can be made that none of that success would have taken place if it weren’t for Cheeks coming up big at point guard.

In fact, the argument can be made that Cheeks was even one of the biggest draft steals of all time for Philadelphia when taking into consideration they landed him in the second round of the draft back in 1978 while giving the team 11 great seasons.

When looking at how most picks that late in the draft struggle to make an impact, this made the Sixers appreciate Cheeks even more, and were beyond thrilled to finally seem him earn a spot in the Hall of Fame.

Hearing Cheeks provide an amazing speech on Friday, which can be viewed below, shows just how special of a career he had in the NBA, and how Philadelphia will always cherish the time he spent in the City of Brotherly Love, both as a player and coach.

As for how Cheeks finally earning his spot in the Hall of Fame can benefit this current Sixers team, players like Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid still have a long way to go before they can even be part of the discussion when it comes to the all-time greats.

But when seeing how quick of an impact Cheeks made during the early stages of his career to make Philadelphia a serious contender year after year, guys like Simmons and Embiid will hopefully see similar results.

Otherwise, all of this trusting in the process is going to seem like a complete waste for Philadelphia and their fans.

To see a young team like the Sixers go from a team with potential to possibly earn one of the final spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs at best to claiming the No. 3 seed last season shows just how special this team is.

Assuming Simmons and Embiid along with the rest of their supporting cast continue to get better with experience since they seem to just be scratching the surface of their true potential, this Philadelphia team could eventually draw similarities to the ones from the early 80’s.

Making the NBA Finals that many times won’t be easy since teams like the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors will be standing in their way, but maybe after taking part of the celebration surrounding Cheeks all weekend, this will provide the Sixers with a little extra motivation to do so.

Cheeks was a Hall of Famer for a reason, and if Philadelphia was smart, this current team would look back at what the former point guard was able to accomplish to try accomplishing the same moving forward.