Prior to a 2003 Trail Blazers playoff game, 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert stumbled on her words while performing the national anthem before then-Portland head coach Maurice Cheeks stepped up to help.

Twenty-two years after her last national anthem performance before a Portland Trail Blazers game, Natalie Gilbert was back Wednesday night to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" with Maurice Cheeks in ...

Maurice Cheeks helped Natalie Gilbert finish the national anthem when she performed it at a Portland Trail Blazers game in 2002. She returned to sing it again more than 20 years later.

NBA fans witnessed a heartwarming moment on Wednesday when a national anthem singer reunited with longtime coach Maurice Cheeks, who memorably showed his support as she struggled to perform over ...

4mo Natalie Gilbert (Zito) returns to Moda Center to sing the National Anthem in front of former Trail Blazers Coach Maurice Cheeks.

Bill Oram’s commentary on national anthem singer Natalie Gilbert (now Natalie Zito) was for me, in Oram’s words, a “tonic for our times,” (“Bill Oram: Natalie Gilbert’s anthem reprise ...