Chauncey Billups

Billups has gone by the nicknames Mr. Big Shot and Smooth.

He is the older brother of Rodney Billups, who was drafted into the NBA Development League. He is also cousins with American football player LenDale White.

High School and College Career

He attended George Washington High School. While there, he was named Mr. Colorado Basketball three times. He was also named a McDonald’s All-American in 1995.

After high school, he committed to play for the University of Colorado Boulder. He was there from 1995 to 1997. In 1997, he was named to the Consensus Second-team All-American. The Colorado Buffaloes later retired jersey number 4 in his honor.

Professional Career

Billups declared for the 1997 NBA Draft and was picked third overall by the Boston Celtics. In the middle of his rookie year in the NBA, Billups was traded out to the [Toronto Raptors for Kenny Anderson.

He played out 1998 with the Raptors, appearing in 29 games and scoring 11.3 points per game, up from his 11.1 average with the Celtics. His assists per game dropped one point to 3.3 per game.

In 1998, he was traded out to the Denver Nuggets where he was again used as the backup. Despite starting 41 of the 45 games he played that season, Billups was always in the hunt for a starting spot and a 13.9 point average was good enough to get him pushed up the rotation.

However, in 1999-2000, Billups got injured after just 13 games and was out for the rest of the season. The Nuggets decided to trade him to the Orlando Magic. The injured Billups spent 1999-2000 on the disabled list and never turned out on court for the Magic, a problem that prompted the Magic to send him away.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were keen to take him on board as a backup and the perpetually injured Terrell Brandon gave Billups many opportunities to get into the starting lineup.

Billups started 33 of his 77 games at the Timberwolves in 2000-01, scoring 9.3 points per game with 3.4 assists.

The following year, Billups played every game in the season and scored 12.5 points per game with 5.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. After a great 2001-02 Season, Billups decided to turn free agent and join the Detroit Pistons as the starting point guard.

After starting all 74 games he played in 2002-03, Billups took charge and led the Pistons to the 2004 NBA Championship title, winning the NBA Finals MVP title as well. Scoring at 16.9 points per game, Billups had 5.7 assists per game, leading his team from the front in all aspects.

The following year, despite being named to the All-NBA Second All-Defensive Team for his 3.4 rebounds per game, 5.8 assists and 16.5 points per game, Billups could not manage a repeat of the previous season as the Nuggets fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals.

In 2006, Billups began by being named as the co-captain of the Pistons and took the Franchise to an all-time best record of 64-18. In a career-high 81 starts in as many games, Billups set career-highs in scoring with 18.5 points per game as well as in assists, with 8.6 per game.

His performance got him into the NBA All-Star Weekend as a reserve, his first of 4 appearances at the event.

Before the beginning of 2007, Billups signed an extension on his previous contract, a 4-year deal worth $46 million after turning free agent a few days before the Pistons offered him this deal. Although his performance dipped a bit, he was still quite prolific with 7.2 assists and 17 points per game. He made his second All-Star game appearance, again as a reserve.

In 2007-08, Billups kept his scoring rate the same however his assists per game dropped by 0.4 from the previous year but he still made it to the All-Star Game as a reserve. In 2008-09, Billups would just play 2 games for the Pistons before ending his association with the Pistons after being traded out to the Denver Nuggets. The deal saw Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb move to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson.

After 6 years with the Pistons, 1 NBA Championship title, 3 All-Star Game selections, and 2 All-NBA Team selections later, Billups came back to Denver for the 2008-09 Season and played, and started, all 77 games that he was a part of. Averaging 17.9 points per game, Billups had 3.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game to make it to the All-Star Game for the fourth year in a row.

Billups also led the Nuggets to the highest number of wins the franchise has had in a single season, with 54. Despite leading the Western Conference for most of the season, the Nuggets ended up in second spot behind the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nuggets reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 24 years and was Billups’ 7th consecutive Conference Final appearance.

In February 2011, Billups was traded to the New York Knicks and the team made the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2004. He suffered from a knee injury shortly after and was unable to play. He became an unrestricted free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

In December 2011, he was claimed by the Los Angeles Clippers and was moved into the shooting guard position. He helped the team beat the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Magic. However, Billups had a tear in his Achilles tendon which ended his season.

He signed with Detroit Pistons in July 2013 where he appeared in the fewest games of his career due to injuries. Billups announced his retirement from the NBA due to health issues. His 17-year career statistics are 15,082 points, 2,992 rebounds, and 5,636 assists.

In 2020, he made his return to the NBA in a coaching capacity, signing on as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2021, he was offered the head coach position with the Portland Trail Blazers. As of the 2023 season, he is still with Portland.

Career Highlights

• 2004 - NBA champion
• 2004 - NBA Finals MVP
• 2006–2010 - NBA All-Star
• 2006 - All-NBA Second Team
• 2007, 2009 - All-NBA Third Team
• 2005, 2006 - NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• 2009 - NBA Sportsmanship Award

• 2013 - NBA Teammate of the Year

• No. 1 retired by Detroit Pistons

• 1997 - Consensus second-team All-American

• 1997 - First-team All-Big 12

• No. 4 retired by Colorado Buffaloes

• 1995 - McDonald’s All-American
• 1995 - Second-team Parade All-American
• 1994 - Fourth-team Parade All-American
• 1993–1995 - Mr. Colorado Basketball

NBA Career Statistics

• Points - 15,802 (15.2 ppg)
• Rebounds - 2,992 (2.9 rpg)
• Assists - 5,636 (5.4 apg)

Medals, Men’s basketball, Representing the United States

• Gold - FIBA Americas Championship 2007 Las Vegas
• Gold - FIBA World Championship 2010 Turkey