Former Detroit Pistons star and 2004 NBA Finals MVP, Chauncey Billups has announced his retirement after 17 years in the NBA.
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Billups was the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, but was traded to the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 18, 1998. The Denver native turned his career around with the Minnesota Timberwolves, helped lead the Denver Nuggets to the 2009 Western Conference finals in his second stint with the team, rejoined ex-Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks and played alongside Chris Paul with the Los Angeles Clippers before finishing his career where he was once in his prime in Detroit.
Billups became an unrestricted free agent when the Pistons declined the second and final year of a contract option that would have paid him $2.5 million next season. But after missing 185 games the past three seasons, the five-time All-Star decided it was time to retire just before his 38th birthday.
“It’s just time. I know when it’s time,” Billups told Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports. “My mind and my desire is still strong. I just can’t ignore the fact that I haven’t been healthy for three years. I can try again and get to a point where I think I can go, but I just can’t sustain. Me not being able to play the way that I can play, that’s when you kind of know it’s that time.
“It’s just time. I’m happy, excited. The game was very, very good to me. I felt like I was equally as good to the game the way I played it and the way I respected it and the way I carried myself through the process.”
Billups played with the Detroit Pistons from 2002-2008 where he earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for his great performance in the 2004 NBA Finals when the Pistons scorched the Los Angeles Lakers in four games. Billups was part of one of the best four somes in NBA history with Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace, who all started in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game. The foursome led by Billups was the second coming of the ‘Detroit Bad Boys’ who took over basketball with their tough play.
Billups averaged 15 points, 5.4 assists and made 38.7 percent of his 3-point attempts during his NBA career. He made the All-NBA second team twice, the All-NBA third team once and the All-Defense team twice. He finished with 15,802 points, ranks 39th all-time with 5,636 assists and sixth with 1,830 3-pointers made. He also had 1,051 steals in his career.
Billups tells Spears of Yahoo! Sports, “Right now, I am kind of taking it easy. I have always said I had a desire to work in a front office somewhere or also do TV commentating or studio work. Those are the things I desire the most. But at the moment I’ll enjoying taking it easy. We’ll see where it leads.”
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