Maurice Cheeks reunites at Blazers game with national anthem singer he famously helped in full-circle moment

The national anthem has become a staple of major American sporting events, and with versions sung every single night, every sport has its share of infamous performances. One that stands out in NBA history came back in 2003, when the Portland Trail Blazers were hosting the Dallas Mavericks in a first-round playoff game.

Natalie Gilbert, then 13 years old, took center court to sing, but midway through the performance, she forgot the words. Fortunately, she had an eager helper in the form of then-Blazers head coach Maurice Cheeks, who stepped up and encouraged her to keep going.

Cheeks even finished the song alongside her, embracing her afterward and turning what could have been a horrible night into a heartwarming moment that made national news.

Fast forward 22 years and Cheeks is an assistant coach under Tom Thibodeau with the New York Knicks. Those Knicks make only one trip to Portland per year, and the Blazers decided to bring back a very special anthem singer for the occasion.

Gilbert, now 35, stepped onto the floor to once again sing in front of Cheeks. She nailed her performance this time.

The Portland crowd gave Gilbert a rousing ovation after her performance, and the camera even cut to a grinning and applauding Cheeks. Even now, more than two decades later, Gilbert remains thankful to Cheeks for his kindness.

“This moment changed my life. And I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” Gilbert said on the broadcast, according to ESPN. “I would not go back in time and change it at all. Seeing him and seeing that he’s still the standup guy today that he was back then. It’s amazing.”

The age of the internet has made it easier than ever for a single embarrassing moment to snowball into something that defines someone’s life. Were it not for Cheeks, that perhaps could have been the case for Gilbert. Instead, the two were able to give fans in Portland and around the NBA two of the most memorable national anthem renditions the league has ever seen.

Oliver Miller, nine-year NBA veteran and Arkansas star, dies at 54

Oliver Miller, the big man who helped Arkansas reach the Final Four before becoming the No. 22 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, died Wednesday at 54. Miller, a talented all-around center, spent nine seasons in the NBA, bouncing between five teams.

His death was announced by both the NBA Players Association and the Arkansas basketball program. No cause of death was disclosed, but Arkansas announced that he had cancer during an event honoring its 1990 Final Four team last month.

Known as “The Big O,” the 6-foot-9 Miller reportedly weighed around 380 pounds at his heaviest during his career and is believed to have been one of the heaviest players in NBA history.

Miller grew up in Texas and was recruited to play for Nolan Richardson during his legendary stint at Arkansas. The Razorbacks reached the Final Four in 1990 with Miller as a key piece of their front court, but ultimately lost the national semifinal to Duke. A year later, he won Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors by averaging 15.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.7 assists per contest. Miller averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds across his four seasons with the Razorbacks.

Miller was drafted by the Suns and began his career as a backup in a Phoenix front court rotation that included Charles Barkley and A.C. Green and was a member of the 1993 team that reached the NBA Finals. He was traded to the Pistons after his second season, and later had his most successful year in during the 1995-96 campaign as a starter for the inaugural season of Toronto Raptors history. Starting 72 games, Miller averaged 12.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest.

That proved to be the peak for Miller, who signed with the Mavericks in the following offseason only to eventually make it back to Toronto. The Raptors held a moment of silence for Miller before their game against Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

“The Toronto Raptors are saddened to learn of the passing of Oliver Miller, who spent three seasons with our organization,” the team said in a statement. “He holds a special place in our history as a member of our inaugural team in 1995, and we are so grateful for all his contributions. We send our deepest condolences to the Miller family.”

Miller would also go on to play for the Kings and Timberwolves along with a number of foreign and minor league teams. He even suited up for the Harlem Globetrotters for two short stints.

For his NBA career, Miller had averages of 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Mikal Bridges game-winner bails out Josh Hart after rare blunder nearly costs Knicks against Blazers

Mikal Bridges made news before the New York Knicks tipped off on Wednesday when he publicly lobbied for head coach Tom Thibodeau to play his starters fewer minutes. As it turned out, the Knicks needed every one of Bridges’ 41 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers.

With Jalen Brunson still sidelined, Bridges took the reins of New York’s offense and scored 33 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer, in what was perhaps his best game with the Knicks.

The game was a classic even before the Bridges dagger, though. It included 42 lead changes in 53 minutes. And were it not for the shot Bridges drilled at the end, we’d remember this game for an entirely different reason. With 7.2 seconds remaining and the Knicks leading 111-110, Josh Hart needed to simply inbound the ball and wait for a teammate to get fouled so New York could extend the lead to two or three.

Instead, he committed one of the rarer violations in all of basketball. Hart moved several steps before he inbounded the ball, which isn’t allowed unless the inbound is coming after a score. This inbound came after the ball went out of bounds on Portland, so Hart was not allowed to maneuver the baseline. As a result of his blunder, the ball went back to the Blazers.

The call was so rare that broadcaster Mike Breen said on the air that he had never seen it at the end of a game in 33 years. The Blazers took advantage. While Mitchell Robinson blocked Deni Avdija on his go-ahead layup attempt, Avdija secured the rebound, made the putback and got fouled in the process.

That gave Portland a 113-111 lead, but with the game on the line, Thibodeau drew up the play for Bridges. He delivered with a game-winning triple.

After the game, Tom Haberstroh noted a somewhat shocking bit of NBA history that came on this Bridges shot. The tracking-era record for most lead changes in a game is 43. That was set in an overtime game between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks. In that game, Bridges hit a game-winner to secure a 114-113 victory for his team, just as he did tonight in a game that included the second-most lead changes of the tracking era (42).

It’s been an uneven debut season for Bridges with the Knicks. Despite rejoining his Villanova teammates Brunson and Hart, Bridges is having his worst 3-point shooting season since his rookie year. His defense hasn’t been up to its typical standard either, and after the Knicks gave up five first-round picks to get him, expectations were understandably high.

Perhaps this shot is a sign of things to come for Bridges down the stretch with the postseason approaching. If nothing else, Hart owes him a big thank you for the bail out.