Former Pistons forward Grant Hill and former coach Maurice “Mo” Cheeks were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
On Thursday afternoon, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke news that former Pistons forward and current ESPN analyst Grant Hill and former Pistons and current Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach, Maurice “Mo” Cheeks, were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018.
Cheeks and Hill join an already star-studded class, joining Jason Kidd and Steve Nash as part of the announcement for today.
Grant Hill, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash have been notified that each will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2018, sources tell ESPN. Formal announcement comes at Final Four weekend.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 29, 2018
Maurice Cheeks will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2018, league source tells ESPN. He will join Nash, Hill and Kidd as part of starry group.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 29, 2018
Hill was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the 3rd pick in the NBA draft in 1994. He began his career on a trajectory towards stardom – winning Rookie of the Year with fellow Hall-inductee Jason Kidd.
As the poster boy for the “Teal Era” in Detroit, Hill managed to shoot 49 percent from the field and averaged 25.8 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, and 5.2 assists per game usurped in the MVP voting by only Allen Iverson and eventual MVP Shaquille O’Neal.
Hill’s Pistons never made much noise in the playoffs and he eventually joined the Orlando Magic as an unrestricted free agent. In a career riddled with injuries, Pistons and NBA fans alike can only wonder what could have been.
Maurice Cheeks was coach of the Detroit Pistons prior to Stan Van Gundy’s reign as czar of the Pistons. Cheeks’ time in Detroit was tumultous to say the least – the team struggled on the court and the locker room was fresh off of a year full of insubordination with coach Lawrence Frank.
Cheeks was eventually relieved of his duties as head coach and replaced with John Loyer. Cheeks ended his reign as Pistons coach with a 21-29 record, but will forever be remembered and enshrined for his time as a player for the Philadelphia 76ers in the ’80s and not his attempt as head coach of a struggling Pistons team.