For a minute, it seemed Chauncey Billups would walk the same road as many draft busts had before him. Though the 6-foot-3 guard from Denver, Colorado, was selected third overall in the 1997 NBA Draft, his career did not get off to a stellar start, and he ended up playing for five teams in his first five seasons in the league.
However, little did Billups know that his fifth stop in the league would be the home he never knew he was looking for.
Enshrined in the Hall of Fame
Speaking at his official enshrinement into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the five-time All-Star first thanked Joe Dumars, the former Detroit Pistons great who was the team's president of basketball operations when he signed with the team in July 2002.
"Joe D, thank you. I thank you for seeing something in me that most people didn't at the time," Chauncey said in his Hall of Fame speech.
Although fans and pundits didn't consider the move significant since Billups averaged only 12.5 points and 5.5 assists per game the season before, it placed him alongside players of the same ilk—guys who wanted to achieve wins more than individual accolades.
"It was in Motown where I joined forces with some other really, really talented players who were also looking for a chance to prove that they were winners. My brothers—Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and my big fella right here, Ben Wallace," Billups said.
"We affectionately called ourselves the 'Best Five Alive,' and nobody was going to tell us different," he added.
A couple of years after Billups signed with Detroit, the Pistons' five proved themselves the best as they defeated the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals. That Lakers squad was the odds-on favorite to win it all this season after they bolstered their roster, which already had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, with Gary Payton and Karl Malone. However, they had no answer for Billups and Co., who thrived as a defensive squad.
Detroit means the world to Chauncey
While Billups is currently the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, his heart will always belong to Detroit: the place where his hoop dreams came true.
"It was in Detroit where I became an NBA champion, and it was in Detroit where I became 'Mr. Big Shot.' It was in Detroit where I finally became an All-Star. It was in Detroit where I became known as a winner, which is all I ever wanted. And also, it was in Detroit where the number one jersey is hanging in the rafters. I never thought I needed a second home, but in Detroit, I have one," Billups concluded.
Chauncey averaged 16.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in eight seasons with the Pistons. That said, he will always be remembered for his iconic 2004 title run when the Hall of Fame point guard earned the Finals MVP award after beating the star-studded purple and gold squad.
Related: "What? They got Kobe" - Chauncey Billups' wife didn't believe the Detroit Pistons could beat the Lakers in 2004
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