All Knicks

Trail Blazers Reunite Knicks Coach, Old Friend for Iconic Moment

New York Knicks assistant coach Maurice Cheeks ran into an old friend during the team's recent excursion into the Pacific Northwest.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Feb 5, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks reacts from the sidelines against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Feb 5, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Detroit Pistons head coach Maurice Cheeks reacts from the sidelines against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images
In this story:

It was a night of happy returns for the New York Knicks on Wednesday at Moda Center.

Not only did the Knicks (42-23) get back in the win column with a last-second overtime triumph over the hosting Portland Trail Blazers but New York assistant coach Maurice Cheeks reunited with an old friend prior to tip-off.

For Wednesday's game, the Blazers invited Natalie Zito (née Gilbert) to sing the national anthem during the pregame festivities. Zito is best-known among basketball fans for one of her prior anthem performances alongside Cheeks during the 2003 NBA playoffs.

At the time, Cheeks was the head coach of the Blazers during their first round showdown against the Dallas Mavericks. When Zito, then 13 years old, stumbled over one of the lyrics of the anthem prior to Game 3 of the best-of-seven set, Cheeks approached her with encouragement by placing his arm around her shoulder and helping her finish "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Blazers fans gathered at Moda Center, then known as the Rose Garden, joined in to create one of the most memorable national anthem recitings in professional sports history.

Cheeks, a first-year assistant on the Knicks' bench, and Zito shared another hug at midcourt as she and the teams warmed up for Wednesday's game and the latter spoke about how the moment left a profound impact on her life.

“That moment changed my life,” Zito told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “Obviously, in the moment when you’re 13, and you go through something like that, it’s very life changing. I was hazed. I was picked on in school. But the way he stood up for me really set a path for me to follow in those footsteps.”

This time around, Zito didn't need Cheeks' assistance, as her sterling rendition of the anthem served as the lead-in to a thrilling interconference showdown between the Knicks and Blazers. The Blazers' local broadcast on the Rip City Television Network cut to a beaming Cheeks several times while Zito sang.

Zito is now the vice president of Environmentally Conscious Recycling, a dry waste management facility owned by her family in Portland. Cheeks' act of kindness from when she was a teenager has encouraged to live her own life with a similar purpose.

"This moment changed my life and I wouldn't have had it any other way," Zito told Brooke Olzendam of the Rip City Television Network. "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."

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns as and so much more!

Published |Modified
Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks

Home/News