NBA Draft: Top 10 Second-Round Draft Picks of All-Time

#9 Maurice Cheeks

Maurice Cheeks

Most of us remember Maurice Cheeks as the coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2011, but before that, he was a decorated NBA player. Cheeks was selected as the 36th pick in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Cheeks played 15 years in the NBA, 11 of which came with the Sixers. He played point guard for the Sixers and helped them earn three trips to the NBA Finals in a four-year span in 1980, 1982 and 1983, including one NBA Championship in 1983.

He averaged 11.1 points per game and 6.7 assists per game for his career, but Cheeks’ effect on the game went way beyond points and assists. Playing alongside legends like Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Andrew Toney and Charles Barkley, Cheeks was admired for his unselfish team play and excellent defensive skills due to which he was named to four straight NBA All-Defensive squads from 1983 to 1986.

Cheeks amassed 2,310 steals over his 15-year NBA career and therefore ranks fifth on the All-Time Steals list. He also ranks 11th on the All-Time assists list. He was also able to reach the All-Star stage 4 times in his career.