Chauncey Billups From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Chauncey Billups Position Point guard Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight 202 lb (91.6 kg) League NBA Team Detroit Pistons Jersey #1 Born September 25, 1976 (1976-09-25) (age 32) Denver, Colorado Nationality American High school George Washington (Denver) College Colorado Draft 3rd overall, 1997 Boston Celtics Pro career 1997–present Former teams Boston Celtics (1997–1998) Toronto Raptors (1998) Denver Nuggets (1999–2000) Orlando Magic (2000) Minnesota Timberwolves (2000–2002) 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, 2008 All-Star 2006–07 All-NBA Third Team 2007–08 Citizenship Award Official profile Info Page 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 Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball at the University of Colorado, where he was honored in 2004 as the fifth player to have his jersey (#4) retired. His nicknames are "Mr. Big Shot" and "Smooth". He was the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. Contents [hide] 1 Basketball career 1.1 High school 1.2 College 1.3 Early NBA years 1.4 Detroit Pistons 1.5 All-star weekend 1.6 International Career 2 Player profile 3 Personal life 4 Awards and honors 5 NBA career statistics 5.1 Regular season 5.2 Playoffs 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links [edit] Basketball career [edit] 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 shoulder injury, an injury that he would have a problem with off and on throughout his early career. [edit] College Billups attended the University of Colorado, where he 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. [edit] 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. [edit] Detroit Pistons When he signed with the Pistons, Billups was forced to take the number 1 (Ironically, Pistons number 1 jersey was originally worn by Lindsey Hunter before he was once traded away) 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 Finals, averaging 21 points and 5.2 assists per game in the series to earn the Finals MVP Award in a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. 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 first time in three years. He also led the league in assist to turn-over ratio. Billups became one of the team's tri-captains along with Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton (following Ben Wallace's signing with the Chicago Bulls due to free-agency) Billups has attained a reputation around the league as basketball a talented point guard, confident leader, and clutch player. On July 11, 2007, Billups signed a $46 million, four-year contract (with a team option for a fifth year at $14 million)[1]. Billups had been an unrestricted free agent for several days after he opted out of the previous contract which he had signed in 2002. During a game 3 playoff game against the Orlando Magic, Billups pulled a hamstring after going for a ball. He missed game 4 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. [edit] 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 when the east was falling behind and they were able to get the eastern all-stars 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 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. In the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, Billups was chosen again along with teammates Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace as a reserve who replaced Kevin Garnett who was out with an abdominal strain. [edit] International Career 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.[2] 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.[3] 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."[4] During the tournament, Team USA went unbeaten on their way to their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics, defeating Spain in the final.[5] [edit] Player profile Chauncey Billups has established himself as one of the best point guards in the league. He is considered among the best defensive guards in the NBA today, and is also among the league's top-ten leaders in three-pointers, assists, field-goals and free-throw percentage. However, he is also known as a very physical point guard, scoring many of his points down in the low-post by tricking defenders usually much larger than he is. Billups has also 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:

Category Season High Date Career High Date 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 [edit] Personal life Billups is married to Piper and has three children: Cydney, Ciara, and Cenaiya.[6] His good 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[7] and was recently drafted in the NBA D-League.[8] He is the first cousin of running back LenDale White of the Tennessee Titans.[9] 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 #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.[10] His favorite NFL team is the Denver Broncos.[9] Billups is featured on the cover of the video game NBA Ballers: Phenom and is the player's mentor. Billups has signed endorsement deals with Vitamin Water, Ford and still has a relationship with Tahitian Noni. He is also a partner in a new restaurant opening in Miami Beach called Philippe. On June 16, 2008, Billups appeared at Joe Louis Arena for a Sen. Barack Obama rally. Billups warmed up the crowd for Obama and encouraged voter registration.[11] [edit] Awards and honors Gold Medal with Team USA, Tournament of Americas Olympic Qualifiers 2004 NBA Finals MVP 2004-05 NBA All-Defense Second Team 2006, 2007, 2008 NBA All-Star 2005-06 All-NBA Second Team 2005-06 NBA All-Defense Second Team 2006-07 All-NBA Third Team [edit] NBA career statistics 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 [edit] Regular season 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 Career 758 664 31.8 .416 .385 .886 2.9 5.5 1.0 .1 14.8 All-Star 3 0 16.7 .429 .143 .750 3.0 5.7 .0 .0 9.7 [edit] Playoffs Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 2000–01 Minnesota 3 0 8.7 .167 .000 1.000 1.7 .7 .0 .0 1.0 2001–02 Minnesota 3 3 44.7 .451 .400 .700 5.0 5.7 1.0 .3 22.0 2002–03 Detroit 14 14 34.6 .374 .310 .933 3.4 4.7 .6 .1 18.0 2003–04 Detroit 23 23 38.3 .385 .346 .890 3.0 5.9 1.4 .1 16.4 2004–05 Detroit 25 25 39.4 .428 .349 .893 4.3 6.5 1.0 .2 18.7 2005–06 Detroit 18 18 39.2 .406 .340 .905 3.4 6.5 1.2 .1 17.9 2006–07 Detroit 16 16 40.6 .435 .389 .832 3.3 5.7 1.2 .1 18.6 2007–08 Detroit 15 15 32.0 .401 .375 .832 2.9 5.5 .8 .1 16.1 Career 117 114 37.1 .407 .351 .876 3.4 5.8 1.0 .1 17.3 [edit] Notes ^ ESPN - Pistons keep Billups with four-year, $46M deal - NBA ^ Team USA 2006-08 Announced ^ USA Men's Team Announced For FIBA Americas Championship ^ Citing family reasons, Billups pulls out of consideration for Beijing ^ US hoops back on top, beats Spain for gold medal ^ Fantasy Basketball Breaking News - Rotoworld.com ^ CSTV.com: #1 in College Sports ^ NBA Development League: NBA Development League Announces 2006 Draft Results ^ a b "Five Things You Didn't Know About Chauncey Billups" (June 2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-21. ^ PISTONS: FSN SPOTLIGHT - Chauncey Billups ^ Billups Makes Surprise Appearance for Obama || WXYZ.com | WXYZ-TV / Detroit | Detroit News, Weather, Sports and More [edit] References "FSN Spotlight: Chauncey Billups" (2006). Retrieved on 2007-02-22. [edit] External links Official Myspace NBA Profile for Chauncey Billups Instructional DVD with Chauncey Billups Preceded by Tim Duncan NBA Finals Most Valuable Player 2004 Succeeded by Tim Duncan [show]v • d • eDetroit Pistons current roster 1 Billups | 3 Stuckey | 5 Herrmann | 6 Acker | 12 Bynum | 22 Prince | 24 McDyess | 25 Johnson | 28 Afflalo | 30 Wallace | 32 Hamilton | 35 Samb | 38 Brown | 42 Sharpe | 54 Maxiell | Coach Curry [show]v • d • e1997 NBA Draft First Round Tim Duncan • Keith Van Horn • Chauncey Billups • Antonio Daniels • Tony Battie • Ron Mercer • Tim Thomas • Adonal Foyle • Tracy McGrady • Danny Fortson • Olivier Saint-Jean • Austin Croshere • Derek Anderson • Maurice Taylor • Kelvin Cato • Brevin Knight • Johnny Taylor • Chris Anstey • Scot Pollard • Paul Grant • Anthony Parker • Ed Gray • Bobby Jackson • Rodrick Rhodes • John Thomas • Charles Smith • Jacque Vaughn • Keith Booth Second Round Serge Zwikker • Mark Sanford • Charles O'Bannon • James Cotton • Marko Milič • Bubba Wells • Kebu Stewart • James Collins • Marc Jackson • Jerald Honeycutt • Anthony Johnson • Ed Elisma • Jason Lawson • Stephen Jackson • Gordon Malone • Cedric Henderson • God Shammgod • Eric Washington • Alvin Williams • Predrag Drobnjak • Alain Digbeu • Chris Crawford • DeJuan Wheat • C. J. Bruton •

Paul Rogers • Mark Blount • Ben Pepper • Nate Erdmann • Roberto Dueñas NBA Drafts 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 • 99 • 00 • 01 • 02 • 03 • 04 • 05 • 06 • 07 • 08 [show]v • d • eDetroit Pistons 2003–04 NBA Champions 1 Billups (Finals MVP) | 3 B. Wallace | 7 James | 8 Ham | 10 Hunter | 13 Okur | 22 Prince | 30 R. Wallace | 31 Miličić | 32 Hamilton | 34 Williamson | 41 Campbell | Coach Larry Brown [show]v • d • eNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award 1969: West | 1970: Reed | 1971: Alcindor | 1972: Chamberlain | 1973: Reed | 1974: Havlicek | 1975: Barry | 1976: White | 1977: Walton | 1978: Unseld | 1979: D. Johnson | 1980: E. Johnson | 1981: Maxwell | 1982: E. Johnson | 1983: Malone | 1984: Bird | 1985: Abdul-Jabbar | 1986: Bird | 1987: E. Johnson | 1988: Worthy | 1989: Dumars | 1990: Thomas | 1991: Jordan | 1992: Jordan | 1993: Jordan | 1994: Olajuwon | 1995: Olajuwon | 1996: Jordan | 1997: Jordan | 1998: Jordan | 1999: Duncan | 2000: O'Neal | 2001: O'Neal | 2002: O'Neal | 2003: Duncan | 2004: Billups | 2005: Duncan | 2006: Wade | 2007: Parker | 2008: Pierce [show]v • d • eJ. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award 1975: Unseld | 1976: Watts | 1977: Bing | 1978: Lanier | 1979: Murphy | 1980: Carr | 1981: Glenn | 1982: Benson | 1983: Erving | 1984: Layden | 1985: Issel | 1986: Cooper & Sparrow | 1987: Thomas | 1988: English | 1989: Bailey | 1990: Rivers | 1991: K. Johnson | 1992: M. Johnson | 1993: Porter | 1994: Dumars | 1995: O'Toole | 1996: Dudley | 1997: Brown | 1998: Smith | 1999: Grant | 2000: Divac | 2001: Mutombo | 2002: Mourning | 2003: Robinson | 2004: Miller | 2005: Snow | 2006: Garnett | 2007: Nash | 2008: Billups Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauncey_Billups" Categories: 1976 births | African American sportspeople | American basketball players | Point guards | Boston Celtics draft picks | Boston Celtics players | Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball players | Denver Nuggets players | People from Denver, Colorado | Detroit Pistons players | Living people | Minnesota Timberwolves players | Orlando Magic | Toronto Raptors players | McDonald's High School All-Americans