Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced today that Jim O'Brien has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers .
Jim O'Brien
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Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced today that <m> Jim O'Brien </m> has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers .
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Philadelphia 76ers Fire Coach Jim O'Brien , Hire Maurice Cheeks
May 23 , 2005
Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced today that <m> Jim O'Brien </m> has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers .
No decision has been reached on O'Brien's staff at this time .
O'Brien was hired as the 20th coach of the 76ers on April 21 , 2004 and posted a record of 43 - 39 in 2004 - 05 .
Overall , in five seasons as an NBA head coach , O'Brien recorded a mark of 182 - 158 ( . 535 ) , including a record of 139 - 119 ( . 539 ) with the Boston Celtics from 2000 - 04 .
O'Brien has served on the coaching staffs at seven different universities , including head coaching positions at Wheeling Jesuit College ( 1982 - 87 ) and University of Dayton ( 1989 - 94 ) .
He owns a 135 - 156 ( . 464 ) record at the collegiate level in 10 seasons as a head coach .
Also today , Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced that Maurice Cheeks has been hired as the 21st head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers .
Cheeks arrives in Philadelphia after three - plus seasons as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers .
He recorded a mark of 162 - 139 ( . 538 ) in Portland , the fourth - highest win total in Blazers history .
During his time in Portland , the Blazers reached the NBA Playoffs twice , and his 2002 - 03 squad tied for second in the Pacific Division with a 50 - 32 record .
He joined the Blazers on June 27 , 2001 , after serving seven seasons as an assistant coach for the 76ers .
Cheeks worked 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 , 48 , logged an impressive 15 - year NBA career , spending 11 seasons in Philadelphia .
The four - time All - Star ( 1983 , '86 , '87 , '88 ) helped guide the 76ers to 10 playoff appearances , including a World Championship in 1983 .
In 133 career playoff games , he averaged 14 . 4 points , 6 . 9 assists , and 3 . 4 rebounds while shooting 51 . 2 percent from the field .
Cheeks is also a five - time NBA All - Defensive Team honoree .
The native of Chicago , Ill . , he averaged 11 . 1 points , 6 . 7 assists and 2 . 1 steals in 1 , 101 career games while shooting 52 . 3 percent from the field and 79 . 3 percent from the charity stripe .
He retired in 1993 as the league's all - time leader in steals , and was fifth on the career assists list at that time .
Currently , he ranks fourth in steals and eighth in assists all - time .
Cheeks had his No . 10 76ers jersey retired on Feb . 6 , 1995 .
The 1978 product of West Texas State was a four - year starter and three - time team MVP in college .
He finished his collegiate career third on the Buffalos' all - time scoring list , averaging 16 . 8 points per game .
Cheeks was selected in the second round of the 1978 NBA Draft ( 36th overall pick ) by the 76ers .