Chauncey Billups

born September 25, 1976, in Denver, ColoradoAmerican professional basketball player. Billups is the starting Point guard for the Denver Nuggets 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, number 4, retired. He was the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.

American professional basketball player. Billups is the starting Point guard for the Denver Nuggets 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, number 4, retired. He was the 2004 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
n June 2002, Billups signed with the Detroit Pistons as a free agent to be the team's new starting Point guard.

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). 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 a game three playoff game 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.

On November 3, 2008, Billups was traded to the Denver Nuggets, along with Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb, for Allen Iverson. 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.[3] 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.[4] He finished the season averaging 17.7 ppg, and 6.4 apg.

Along with Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets accomplished a great deal of franchise milestones. Their 54-28 record matched the most wins the franchise has 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 has gotten back-to-back 50-win seasons. They led the Northwest division for much of the season, eventually winning the division and placing for #2 in the Western Conference, matching the highest the team has 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 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.