âmo cheeks, less problems.â
Most casual NBA fans are probably at least a little familiar with Mo Cheeksâ ability as a defender. He retired as the leagueâs all-time steals leader and was named to four of the leagueâs All-Defensive first teams (and once to the second team). He was also a four-time All-Star and helped his team to the 1983 NBA title.
Although he never demanded the same amount of attention and spotlight that some of his teammates did, he was still an irreplaceably important piece to a franchise that routinely contended and made deep playoff runs throughout the 1980â˛s. Here are a few of his major statistical achievements:
His eight seasons with a FG% over 50% and 150+ steals are tied with John Stocktonâs for the most all time.
He is currently 5th all time in total steals, with 2310.
At 3.18, his career steal percentage is 12th in league history.
His career playoff SPG (2.22) is 3rd all time, and his 295 total playoff steals is 9th.
He is 73rd all-time in career defensive win shares.
The 1980â˛s Sixers teams that Cheeks helped orchestrate were loaded with offensive talent: Dr. J, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Andrew Toney, Bobby Jones, and Darryl Dawkins all were all-star (if not HOF) caliber talent, and they all benefited from Cheeksâ ability to run an offense and distribute the ball. Cheeksâ exceptional court vision and passing ability allowed all his teammates to get their touches exactly when and where needed.
Unfortunately there isnât currently any reference material on the internet that would allow us to compare (with sufficient depth) his teamâs stats (and his teammatesâ) with him on the court vs with him off it, but plenty of video highlights like these show how disruptive he was on defensive and how intelligent he was on offense. He was consistently able to force turnovers, put his team back on offense, and either put the ball in the basket himself or get his teammates great looks.
On one hand, spending most of his career on these star-studded Philly rosters caused Cheeks offensive abilities to get lost in the fold and not get the amount of attention it arguably deserved. But on the other hand, although Moâs offensive numbers were admittedly never anything to really write home about, he could facilitate, shoot from outside at an above-average clip, and effectively take it inside when necessary - all contributed to the symbiotic relationship he had with his legendary teammates. His offensive dependability, presence as a legitimate secondary or tertiary scoring threat, and penchant for shrewd off-ball movement were all invaluable to set up openings for the teamsâ primary scorers.
(all stats from basketball-reference.com)
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