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Chauncey Billups

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Chauncey Billups
Detroit Pistons
PositionPoint guard
Personal information
Born (1976-09-25) September 25, 1976 (age 48)
Colorado Denver, Colorado
NationalityUSA
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
CollegeColorado
NBA draft1997: 3rd overall
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career1997–present
Career highlights and awards
2004 NBA Finals MVP
2004-05 NBA All-Defense Second Team
2005-06 NBA All-Defense Second Team
2005-06 All-NBA Second Team
2006, 2007 All-Star
2006-07 All-NBA Third Team
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976 in Denver, Colorado) is an American professional basketball player. Billups is the starting point guard and team captain for the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons. Billups will become an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2007 after he opted out of his contract on June 25. He played college basketball at the University of Colorado. He was honored by the university in 2004 as the fifth player to have his jersey (number 4) retired. His nickname is "Mr. Big Shot." He was the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

Basketball career

High school

Chauncey 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 knee injury.

College

Billups attended the University of Colorado, where he averaged 18.5 points per game over his two seasons. Was named to the Big 8 First- Team in the 1996-97 season. Was Basketball Times All- American First- Team in 1996-97 season.

Early NBA years

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, although 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).

He was signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves as a back-up to then point guard Terrell Brandon. Billups replaced the often-injured Brandon and had a breakthrough 2001-2002 season. In June 2002 Billups signed with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent to be the team's new starting point guard.

Detroit Pistons

When he signed with the Pistons, Billups was forced to take the number 1 because number 4 was retired in honor of Joe Dumars.

Billups quickly established himself in the Pistons squad, earning respect from fans and colleagues for his tenacious defense and clutch shooting. He helped lead the Pistons to the 2004 NBA championship, averaging 21 points per game and 5.2 assists in the NBA Finals to earn the Finals MVP on a team dominated by outstanding teamwork. In 2005, the Pistons lost the finals in seven games to the San Antonio Spurs. He was also 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.

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 Finals for the third time in three years.

Billups became one of the team's tri-captains along with Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton (following Ben Wallace's signing with the Chicago Bulls due to free-agency) Billups has attained a reputation around the league as one of basketball's most talented point guards, confident leaders, and best clutch players.

On June 25, 2007 Chauncey announced that he has opted out of his contract with the Pistons, making him an unrestricted free agent as of July 1st. Chauncey hopes to stay with the Pistons according to Mlive.com. [1]

All-star weekend

In 2006 Billups was selected to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference along with 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 at the same time, which was a major factor in the game's outcome.

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 again chosen along with teammate Richard Hamilton as a reserve 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.

Player profile

Billups has been nicknamed "Mr. Big Shot" for his ability to convert critical shots and free throws at the close of a game.

His career high stats are:

Season Highs/Career Highs 

Points                             31 @ Orlando 12/08/06       37 vs. Orlando 01/03/06
Field Goals Made                   11 2 Times                  12 2 Times
Field Goals Attempted              19 vs. Indiana 12/29/06     24 @ Phoenix 01/18/02
Three Point Field Goals Made       4 4 Times                   7 3 Times
Three Point Field Goals Attempted  9 3 Times                   13 vs. Phoenix 03/28/03
Free Throws Made                   18 @ Washington 11/25/06    18 @ Washington 11/25/06
Free Throws Attempted              19 @ Washington 11/25/06    19 @ Washington 11/25/06
Offensive Rebounds                 3 vs. Portland 12/05/06     5 vs. Vancouver 01/15/98
Defensive Rebounds                 11 vs. Indiana 12/29/06     11 vs. Indiana 12/29/06
Total Rebounds                     12 vs. Indiana 12/29/06     12 vs. Indiana 12/29/06
Assists                            16 vs. New York 12/01/06    19 vs. Sacramento 12/14/05
Steals                             5 2 Times                   7 @ Atlanta 01/23/98
Blocks                             2 vs. Atlanta 12/23/06      3 vs. Denver 02/15/02
Minutes Played                     51 @ New York 12/27/06      51 @ New York 12/27/06

Life outside basketball

Billups is married to Piper and has three children: Cydney, Ciara, and Cenaiya.[2] His younger brother, Rodney, was a point guard for the University of Denver[3] and was recently drafted in the NBA D-League.[4] He is the first cousin of running back LenDale White of the Tennessee Titans.[1]

Billups enjoys listening to his favorite rapper, 2Pac, and also enjoys Jay-Z. He lists his favorite athlete as Magic Johnson and has said the reason he wore the number 4 in college and on his previous NBA stops was because he idolized former Pistons guard (and current Pistons President of Basketball Operations) Joe Dumars.[2] His favorite NFL team is the Denver Broncos.[3]

Billups is featured on the cover of the video game NBA Ballers: Phenom and is the player's mentor.

Notes

  1. ^ http://blog.mlive.com/pistonsinsider/2007/06/billups_officially_a_free_agen.html
  2. ^ http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=NBA&id=468&line=68045&spln=1
  3. ^ http://denverpioneers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/billups_rodney00.html
  4. ^ http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/draft_2006.html

References

  • "Five Things You Didn't Know About Chauncey Billups". June 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
  • "FSN Spotlight: Chauncey Billups". 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
Preceded by NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
2004 		Succeeded by
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