Cheeks enters his second season with Oklahoma City after spending three-plus seasons (2005-08) as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. With Philadelphia, Cheeks guided the 76ers to a 122-147 (.459) mark and a playoff berth during the 2007-08 season.
Cheeks brings 30 years of NBA experience to the Thunder bench including seven-plus seasons as a head coach with Portland and Philadelphia. As an NBA head coach, Cheeks compiled a 284-286 (.498) record.
Prior to joining the Sixers, Cheeks spent three-plus seasons as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers (2001-05). During his time in Portland, he posted a 162-139 (.538) mark, accounting for the fourth-highest coaching win total in Blazers history. He helped the Blazers reach the NBA Playoffs twice, and his 2002-03 squad tied for second in the Pacific Division with a 50-32 record.
Before joining Portland in 2001, Cheeks spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the Sixers, working under head coaches John Lucas (1994-96), Johnny Davis (1996-97), and Larry Brown (1997-2001). In 2000-01 under Brown, Cheeks helped guide the 76ers to a record of 56-26 (.683) and a spot in the NBA Finals.
Cheeks played 15 seasons in the NBA, the first 11 with Philadelphia, before stints with San Antonio,
As an NBA player, Cheeks compiled career averages of 11.1 ppg, 6.7 apg and 2.1 spg in 1,101 games over 15 seasons while shooting .523 from the field and .793 from the free throw line.