Matt Barnes rips Maurice Cheeks over how he treated him and former 76ers teammates: "That's probably why he's a lifelong assistant"
Matt Barnes logged 14 seasons in the NBA — a stretch long enough to form countless connections along the way. And as life tends to go — we all know it — some relationships turn out better than others.
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Barnes would certainly agree, but with a sharp twist. Speaking recently on "The Rich Eisen Show," the former 6'7" forward said he rarely holds hate for anyone. Then came the punchline.
"To this day, I don't dislike anyone," Barnes said, looking straight into the camera. Then, with a pointed finger, the California native added, "I dislike, still to this day, Mo Cheeks."
Barnes' biggest grudge
There's a saying in life: never meet your idols. Barnes, a former UCLA Bruin, learned why firsthand, shifting from admiration to outright disdain for Cheeks over the years.
During the podcast episode, he recalled actually growing up as a big fan of Mo. And Barnes certainly wasn't the only one. After all, Cheeks was far from an ordinary player.
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A four-time All-Star and five-time All-Defensive member, the Chicago native anchored the Philadelphia 76ers as a fundamentally sound point guard throughout the 1980s, including their remarkable 1983 championship run. He ranks seventh all-time in steals and 15th in assists in league history.
More than his on-court excellence, the Hall of Famer earned a reputation as one of the NBA's all-time good guys. That reputation was cemented in 2003 when, as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, he famously helped a 13-year-old singer finish the national anthem after she stumbled during a playoff game — a truly memorable act of kindness.
Related: "It's like Whack-a-Mole" - Cedric Maxwell recalls his unforgettable fight with Charles Barkley
Tense Sixers stint
Good guy? Barnes wouldn't exactly agree after his tense run with Cheeks during the 2005–06 Sixers season. At the time, the former was a raw talent trying to find his footing. At the same time, the latter was the head coach — and their relationship quickly unraveled.
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Matt laid it out clearly.
It started in the gym, him doing drills alongside the team's shooting coach, when Coach Cheeks casually dropped a barb: "I don't know why you're shooting. You're not going to get to shoot here." Probably meant as a joke, but the player didn't see the humor. "You're a head coach — you're saying that?" Barnes recalled thinking.
Barnes explained that Mo still carried that player mentality — joking and bantering like the rest of the guys. But coming from a respected figure, that approach didn't sit well with him or several teammates, the 2017 NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors said.
That aforementioned moment was bad, but things boiled over a week later.
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During practice, the now co-podcat host of "All the Smoke" took a shot the head coach saw as "ill-advised," and Cheeks stopped everything to call out his player in front of the whole roster.
"I was going to pounce on him," Matt remembered his reaction. "Luckily, Chris [Webber] grabbed me and stopped me."
Ultimately, Barnes, outspoken as ever, couldn't resist a jab. He said Cheeks' poor treatment of players left a lasting, and not positive, impact.
"That's probably why he's a lifelong assistant," the 45-year-old noted, alluding to the fact that Mo hasn't held a main role on the sidelines since the 2014–15 NBA regular season.
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Related: "Are we seeing the end of an era with Giannis?" - Matt Barnes feels Giannis Antetokounmpo could be playing his last playoffs with the Bucks
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
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