| Billups during his tenure with the Denver Nuggets | |
| No. 1 Los Angeles Clippers | |
|---|---|
| Point guard/Shooting guard | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | September 25, 1976 |
| Place of birth | Denver, Colorado |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | George Washington HS (Denver, Colorado) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Colorado |
| NBA Draft | 1997 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall |
| Selected by the Boston Celtics | |
| Pro career | 1997–present |
| Career history | |
| 1997–1998 | Boston Celtics |
| 1998–1999 | Toronto Raptors |
| 1999–2000 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2000–2002 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2002–2008 | Detroit Pistons |
| 2008–2011 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2011 | New York Knicks |
| 2011–present | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976, in Denver, Colorado) is an American professional basketball point guard who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has also played for Team USA. Billups won the NBA Finals MVP in 2004, helping the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals,[1] and was given the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" for making late-game shots with Detroit.[2] A five-time NBA All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection, he was chosen third overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, and has also played for the Toronto Raptors, the Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Billups played college basketball at the University of Colorado, where he was honored in 2004 as the fifth player to have his jersey (number 4) retired.
He was waived by the New York Knicks under the amnesty clause to provide salary relief for the acquisitions of Tyson Chandler.[3]
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Billups attended Denver's George Washington High School, where he was a four-time All-State first team pick, Colorado Mr. Basketball three times, and Colorado Player of the Year as a sophomore and as a junior. He was selected to the 1995 McDonald's All-American Team but did not play due to a shoulder injury, an injury that he would have a problem with off and on throughout his early career.
Billups attended but did not graduate from the University of Colorado, having been drafted after his sophomore year. At Colorado, Billups averaged 18.5 points per game over his two seasons. In the 1996–97 season he was named to the Big 12 Conference First Team and the Basketball Times All-American First Team. That same year Billups led the Buffaloes to their first NCAA tournament victory in over thirty years, 80–62 over Indiana.
Drafted third overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics, Billups was traded to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Kenny Anderson midway through his first season. Billups then played for the Denver Nuggets, who traded him to the Orlando Magic. He was on the injured list until season's end and never played a game for Orlando (he was included on the season-ending team photo, wearing jersey number 2).
Billups was signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves as a back-up to then Point guard Terrell Brandon. Billups replaced the injured Brandon and had a breakthrough 2001–02 season.
In June 2002, Billups signed with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent to be the team's new starting point guard.[4] When he signed with the Pistons, he was forced to take the number 1 because number 4 was retired in honor of Joe Dumars. Billups quickly earned respect from Pistons fans and colleagues for his tenacious defense and clutch shooting. He helped Detroit win the 2004 NBA Finals over the Los Angeles Lakers, four games to one. He averaged 21 points and 5.2 assists per game during the series to earn the NBA Finals MVP Award.
The following season, Billups was named to the 2005 NBA Second All-Defensive Team, along with teammate Tayshaun Prince, while teammate and co-captain of the Pistons Ben Wallace took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award. The Pistons reached the NBA finals but lost to the San Antonio Spurs.
In 2006, Billups was co-captain of the team. Although he captained the Pistons to a franchise best 64–18 record, they failed to make it to the NBA Finals for the first time in three years. He also led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio.
On July 11, 2007, Billups signed a $46 million, four-year contract with the Pistons (which includes a team option for a fifth year at $14 million).[5] He had been an unrestricted free agent for several days after he opted out of the previous contract, which he had signed in 2002.
During game three of a playoff series against the Orlando Magic, Billups pulled a hamstring after going for a ball. He missed game four, but the Pistons defeated the Magic, 90–89, to take a 3–1 series lead when Tayshaun Prince hit the game-winning shot with 8.9 seconds left.
Through his six years with Detroit, Billups made six straight conference championship series, two NBA finals, and won an NBA Championship. He was an All-Star three times, made the all-NBA team twice and All-Defensive second team twice.
On November 3, 2008, Billups was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb, for Allen Iverson.[6] Billups chose the number 7 jersey to honor Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, since two of his other favorite numbers, 1 and 4, were already worn by J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin, respectively.[7] He played his first game of the Nuggets' 2008–09 season on November 7, 2008. He recorded 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of play in a 108–105 Nuggets' home win.[8] He finished the season averaging 17.7 ppg, and 6.4 apg.
With Billups and Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets accomplished a number of franchise milestones. Their 54–28 record matched the most wins the franchise had gotten since their induction in the NBA, their 27–14 start was also a record for wins in the first half of a season. This also marked the first time in the franchise's history the team had gotten 50 wins in back-to-back seasons. They led the Northwest division for much of the season, eventually winning the division and gaining the number two seed in the Western Conference, matching the highest the team had ever been seeded for the playoffs. In the first round, they defeated the New Orleans Hornets in 5 games, which included a record-equaling 58-point margin-of-victory. Billups also set a Nuggets franchise record with the most 3 pointers in a playoff game with 8, and his 19 3-pointers in total is also a Nuggets record for 3s made in a playoff series. Billups averaged 22.6 ppg, 7.4 apg, and 3.8 3PM in that series. In his first year with the Nuggets, Billups led them back to the NBA Conference Finals for the first time since 1985. This was Billups' 7th straight conference finals. He joined Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kurt Rambis as the only players to accomplish this feat since the Boston Celtics of the 1950s and 1960s led by Bill Russell.
For the 2009–10 season, Billups reverted to wearing No. 1, the same number he wore with the Detroit Pistons. Teammate J.R. Smith, who had previously worn No. 1 since being acquired by the Nuggets in 2006, changed to the No. 5 jersey.[9] On November 27, 2009, in the Nuggets' 128–125 win over the New York Knicks, Billups scored 32 points while teammate Carmelo Anthony scored 50. This made them only the third duo in NBA history to score at least 30 and 50 points respectively. On February 5, 2010, Billups set a career high in points with a 39 point performance in a road win over the Los Angeles Lakers with 27 of them coming from 9 three-pointers.
Despite publicly professing his desire to finish his career in hometown Denver and retire as a Nugget, Billups was traded to the New York Knicks on February 22, 2011[10] as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal. Billups was "collateral damage"—as more than one sportswriter put it—of Carmelo Anthony's desire to play in New York and the Nuggets' desire to trade Anthony before he became a free agent.[11] "Oh it was hard, hardest thing I've ever had to do," Billups said. "I had to tell my girls that daddy was traded, that he was leaving to play across the country. I told them it wasn't my choice, that nothing could be done about it. I had to go. It wasn't a happy scene."[12]
Billups suffered a knee injury while playing against the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The injury would keep Billups sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.[13]
Shortly after the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, Billups mentioned he would love to return to the Knicks next season. “I would love the opportunity to really try it up with these guys,” Billups said. “Not like play 30 games after a trade, like really have a season. Have an opportunity to really get a fair shake with these guys. I would love to."[14]
In December, 2011, the Knicks used their amnesty clause on Billups, and put him on waivers, and the Los Angeles Clippers placed the winning bid for his rights on December 12.[15] He had previously said he would consider retirement if a team claimed him instead of allowing him to clear waivers and sign with a contender.[16]
In 2006, Billups was selected to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference, along with former teammates Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace. Pistons head coach Flip Saunders coached the Eastern Conference squad and put all four Pistons in the game when the east was falling behind; they were able to get the Eastern All-Star team back in the game.
During the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend, Billups participated in the Three-point Shootout contest. He was eliminated in the first round of the contest after scoring 12 points.
In the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, Billups was chosen as a reserve, along with teammate Richard Hamilton, for the Eastern Conference, despite an injury that kept Billups out of five games early on in the season. Billups also took part in the Shooting Stars Competition alongside former Piston and Detroit Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer and Shock star Swin Cash. Team Detroit won the competition with Billups hitting the final half-court shot.
Billups was selected to play as a reserve in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, along with teammates Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, an injury replacement. Billups was the only Nugget to be selected to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.
Billups was chosen as the replacement by David Stern for injured New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.[17]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | NBA Championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | Boston | 51 | 44 | 25.4 | .390 | .339 | .817 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 1.5 | .0 | 11.1 |
| 1997–98 | Toronto | 29 | 26 | 31.7 | .349 | .316 | .919 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 1.0 | .1 | 11.3 |
| 1998–99 | Denver | 45 | 41 | 33.1 | .386 | .362 | .913 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .3 | 13.9 |
| 1999–00 | Denver | 13 | 5 | 23.5 | .337 | .171 | .841 | 2.6 | 3.0 | .8 | .2 | 8.6 |
| 2000–01 | Minnesota | 77 | 33 | 23.2 | .422 | .376 | .842 | 2.1 | 3.4 | .7 | .1 | 9.3 |
| 2001–02 | Minnesota | 82 | 54 | 28.7 | .423 | .394 | .885 | 2.8 | 5.5 | .8 | .2 | 12.5 |
| 2002–03 | Detroit | 74 | 74 | 31.4 | .421 | .392 | .878 | 3.7 | 3.9 | .9 | .2 | 16.2 |
| 2003–04† | Detroit | 78 | 78 | 35.4 | .394 | .388 | .878 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 1.1 | .1 | 16.9 |
| 2004–05 | Detroit | 80 | 80 | 35.8 | .442 | .426 | .898 | 3.4 | 5.8 | 1.0 | .1 | 16.5 |
| 2005–06 | Detroit | 81 | 81 | 36.1 | .418 | .433 | .894 | 3.1 | 8.6 | .9 | .1 | 18.5 |
| 2006–07 | Detroit | 70 | 70 | 36.2 | .427 | .345 | .883 | 3.4 | 7.2 | 1.2 | .2 | 17.0 |
| 2007–08 | Detroit | 78 | 78 | 32.3 | .448 | .401 | .918 | 2.7 | 6.8 | 1.3 | .2 | 17.0 |
| 2008–09 | Detroit | 2 | 2 | 35.0 | .333 | .286 | .918 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 1.5 | .5 | 12.5 |
| 2008–09 | Denver | 77 | 77 | 35.3 | .420 | .410 | .900 | 3.0 | 6.4 | 1.2 | .2 | 17.9 |
| 2009–10 | Denver | 73 | 73 | 34.1 | .418 | .386 | .910 | 3.1 | 5.6 | 1.1 | .1 | 19.5 |
| 2010–11 | Denver | 51 | 51 | 32.3 | .438 | .441 | .923 | 2.5 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .2 | 16.5 |
| 2010–11 | New York | 21 | 21 | 31.6 | .403 | .328 | .902 | 3.1 | 5.5 | .9 | .1 | 17.5 |
| Career | 982 | 888 | 32.3 | .417 | .389 | .894 | 2.9 | 5.6 | 1.0 | .2 | 15.5 | |
| All-Star | 5 | 0 | 19.0 | .455 | .320 | .750 | 2.2 | 5.0 | .4 | .0 | 10.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Minnesota | 3 | 0 | 8.7 | .167 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.7 | .7 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
| 2002 | Minnesota | 3 | 3 | 44.7 | .451 | .400 | .700 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 1.0 | .3 | 22.0 |
| 2003 | Detroit | 14 | 14 | 34.6 | .374 | .310 | .933 | 3.4 | 4.7 | .6 | .1 | 18.0 |
| 2004† | Detroit | 23 | 23 | 38.3 | .385 | .346 | .890 | 3.0 | 5.9 | 1.4 | .1 | 16.4 |
| 2005 | Detroit | 25 | 25 | 39.4 | .428 | .349 | .893 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 1.0 | .2 | 18.7 |
| 2006 | Detroit | 18 | 18 | 39.2 | .406 | .340 | .905 | 3.4 | 6.5 | 1.2 | .1 | 17.9 |
| 2007 | Detroit | 16 | 16 | 40.6 | .435 | .389 | .832 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 1.2 | .1 | 18.6 |
| 2008 | Detroit | 15 | 15 | 32.0 | .401 | .375 | .832 | 2.9 | 5.5 | .8 | .1 | 16.1 |
| 2009 | Denver | 16 | 16 | 38.7 | .457 | .468 | .906 | 3.8 | 6.8 | 1.2 | .2 | 20.6 |
| 2010 | Denver | 6 | 6 | 34.5 | .446 | .355 | .881 | 2.3 | 6.3 | 1.0 | .5 | 20.6 |
| 2011 | New York | 1 | 1 | 35.0 | .273 | .333 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 4.0 | .0 | .0 | 10.0 |
| Career | 140 | 137 | 37.2 | .413 | .367 | .881 | 3.4 | 5.9 | 1.0 | .2 | 17.8 |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for United States | ||
| FIBA Americas Championship | ||
| Gold | 2007 Las Vegas | Team Competition |
| FIBA World Championship | ||
| Gold | 2010 Turkey | Team competition |
On March 5, 2006, Billups was selected to be a part of the 2006–2008 USA Men's Senior National Team program developed to restore Team USA back to the top of the basketball world after disappointments in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.[18] After missing out in the 2006 FIBA World Championship due to personal reasons, on August 20, 2007, Billups was selected to be a part of Team USA that competed at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics.[19] Coming off the bench, he along with the other new members of the team including All Star Kobe Bryant helped USA go unbeaten at the tournament held in Las Vegas and earn a spot at next Summer Olympics. On June 17, 2008, Billups announced he would not compete for a spot to be on the Olympic squad stating family reasons though he did say "they'll be fine. And when they win the gold, I'll feel like I had a big hand in regaining our dominance because of what we did last summer."[20] During the tournament, Team USA went unbeaten on their way to their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics, defeating Spain in the final.[21]
Billups has a wife, Piper, and three daughters, Cydney, Ciara and Cenaiya.[22] His friend, NBA player Kevin Garnett, is the godfather to Billups's second daughter Ciara. His younger brother, Rodney, was a Point guard for the University of Denver[23] and was recently drafted in the NBA Development League.[24] He is the first cousin of running back LenDale White.[25]
Billups wore the #4 in college and at times during his professional career because he idolized former Pistons guard Joe Dumars, the Pistons President of Basketball Operations during his time at Detroit.[26] His favorite NFL team is the Denver Broncos.[25]
Billups was featured on the cover of the video game NBA Ballers: Phenom and is the player's mentor.
On June 16, 2008, Billups appeared at Joe Louis Arena for a Barack Obama rally.[27]
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