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Knicks Assistant Coach Wins Major Award

An NBA staple on the New York Knicks bench has won a prestigious coaching award.
Geoff Magliocchetti|
Feb 5, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks reacts from the sidelines against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Feb 5, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks reacts from the sidelines against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

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New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have landed a major accolade on the coaching front.

The National Basketball Coaches Association announced on Saturday that Maurice Cheeks, most recently an assistant coach on the New York Knicks bench, is the winner of its 2025 Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award.

“Mo Cheeks has done it again!” Indiana Pacers head coach and NBCA president Rick Carlisle said in a release. “A man of quiet dignity but high impact, Mo has backed up a Hall of Fame playing career with yet another great honor. Congrats to one of the game’s all-time greats.”

Cheeks, a Basketball Hall of Famer who played parts of two seasons with the Knicks, joined the team last season as a member of what became Tom Thibodeau's final staff. The four-time All-Star has been a staple on NBA benches since 1994 when he started as an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Since then, Cheeks has stood at the helm of Philadelphia, Portland, and Detroit. Cheeks amassed a 305-315 record as a head coach and has been to the NBA Finals as an assistant with Philadelphia and Oklahoma City.

Cheeks played a major role in the Knicks' recent success, partly overseeing their first run to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are but two of the familiar names that Cheeks has supervised throughout his career, an expansive list that also includes Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Allen Iverson. The Knicks have yet to confirm whether Cheeks would return as an assistant on new head coach Mike Brown's staff.

The Tex Winter Assistant Coach Lifetime Impact Award is annually bestowed to an assistant coach "who has had a storied career as an NBA Assistant Coach and has made a consistent substantial impact while on the bench."

Winter is best known as an expert in the famed triangle offense and won nine NBA championships between assistant stints under Phil Jackson with Chicago and the Los Angeles Lakers. Late former Knicks assistant Brendan Malone previously won the title in 2023.

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.

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