https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6199676/2025/03/13/national-anthem-performance-nba-maurice-cheeks-knicks/Knicks assistant Maurice Cheeks watches national anthem singer nail performance 22 years later
Mar. 13, 2025
PORTLAND, Ore. — When Maurice Cheeks was coach of the Trail Blazers, he had a wonderful approach to dealing with stress, chaos and/or conflict that often intersects with life in the NBA.
“It’s just a moment,” he would say. “It will pass.”
But sometimes, moments don’t just pass. Sometimes, moments live on and help shape a life.
Just ask Natalie Zito (neé: Gilbert).
On Wednesday night in Portland, she was back in the building that changed her life, performing a stunning rendition of the national anthem, the same song that threatened to haunt her had it not been for Cheeks.
“I feel like it was yesterday that we were in this moment,” Zito said.
It was 22 years ago, 20 seconds deep into the National Anthem, when then-13-year-old Natalie Gilbert forgot the words. If her brain freeze wasn’t bad enough, it felt like the entire world was watching and waiting for the silence to end. It was before Game 3 of the playoff series between Portland and Dallas. In front of 20,000 fans. And a national television audience.
“That moment where I was standing there looking around, that felt like forever,” Zito remembered. “But then … he was just like there. Like, the second I turned over my shoulder, he was right there and he was like, ‘No, we’re not gonna do this … you’re gonna finish this song.’ ”
It became one of the most memorable and viral moments in national anthem history — Cheeks coaching her through the lyrics, one arm around her shoulder, the other conducting the sellout crowd to join in. She finished to a rousing ovation and melted into Cheeks’ chest.
“That’s a hard time in a young child’s life, where something like that happens on national television,” Zito said. “That moment really stuck with me.”
On Wednesday, the moment came full circle. With Cheeks on the sideline as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks, Zito stood at half court and belted out “The Star-Spangled Banner.” There were no hiccups, no pauses, just full-throated perfection.
“I’d give it a solid nine,” Zito said.
Near the end of her rendition, the video board flashed to Cheeks, who was smiling from ear to ear, proud as he was that day 22 years ago.
For Zito, Wednesday wasn’t so much closure as it was a celebration of that moment 22 years ago. It was, as Cheeks likes to say, just a moment. But it was a moment that she believes helped define her.
“It made me a much stronger individual,” Zito said. “I can face adversity or anything that’s coming at me. I just push through now, because that’s probably the worst thing that can happen to you when you are 13 and in middle school.”
Even as she became a national story, appearing on national talk shows, she said she was hazed first at Waluga Middle School in Lake Oswego and later at West Linn High. She said she was “picked on” and when she walked down the halls, students whispered. She would seek comfort at lunch by eating in the privacy of a bathroom stall.
“Awful, right? The kids were brutal … brutal … all the way through high school,” she said. “But I feel like it really made me a stronger person, so I wouldn’t change a thing.”
After high school, she moved to Southern California and took voice lessons. She became a professional performer at the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert and also sang at weddings, birthdays and corporate events. Later, she moved to San Francisco and met her future husband, Michael.
Now, she is a vice president for Environmentally Conscious Recycling (ECR), and although she lives in Boise, Idaho, she visits the Portland ECR offices often. Coincidentally, ECR this season became a sponsor with the Blazers, and she told the team about her past, back when her last name was
She found out a month ago that she would sing on Wednesday, with Cheeks in attendance. Then, as a surprise, she got to meet him pregame. A photograph was taken of the two, and by the first quarter, she had a copy in hand.
“I owe a lot to this man,” she said, showing the photo. “He’s a really stand-up human being. He was like, ‘How long has it been? How are you? How is life? Is this your family? It was so great to see him all these years later, and he’s still just like a great, personable man.”
The Knicks would not allow Cheeks to speak, per team policy.
On Wednesday, her two daughters, ages six and seven, were at the Moda Center to see her perform the anthem. They had seen the video of mom, when she was 13, being rescued and coached through the most trying of moments. Now, they have a better version to remember.
“It’s the best example I can show my children,” Zito said. “That, hey, it’s OK to make mistakes. It’s all about how you recover from them.”
Jason Quick is a senior writer for The Athletic. Based in Portland, he writes about personalties and trends of the NBA, with a focus on human connections. He has been named Oregon sportswriter of the year four times and has won awards from APSE, SPJ, and Pro Basketball Writers Association. Follow Jason on Twitter @jwquick
COMMENTS
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Robert M.
· Yesterday
Great story. Cheeks is a class act. Not a great singer, though.
“Knicks would not allow Cheeks to speak per team policy”. F James Dolan!
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Roger C.
· Yesterday
This is, without hyperbole, one of my all-time favorite sports moments and endeared Cheeks to me forever and ever.
I unashamedly admit that I have mist in my eyes and a giant lump in my throat thinking about the utter decency of the man and the beauty of the moment.
The fact that Cheeks was not allowed to speak with the media seems senseless and counterproductive. Why not relish the PR opportunity?
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Ben K.
· Yesterday
Maurice Cheeks is a class act. I'm happy that's he been able to make a long career as a coach/assistant coach in the NBA.
I’m easily triggered but I hate this thread and conversation. I like our team.
