When I created this system, I expected a Detroit Pistons
point guard to be in the top 50. I thought it would be Isiah Thomas. Instead,
it turned out to be Chauncey Billups. It was a remarkable turnaround because
for several years, he was a draft bust.
Billups was the No. 3 pick overall in the 1997 draft, picked
just after Tim Duncan and Keith Van Horn and ahead of Tracy McGrady (No. 9).
Billups though didn’t mesh with Boston coach Rick Pitino and they shipped him
to Toronto just 51 games into his rookie year. Toronto kept him for just a few
months before shipping him to Denver. Denver held on to Billups for 1 ½ years
before sending an injured Billups to Orlando, where he would never suit up
because of an injured shoulder.
To that point, Billups had played three seasons, been a part
of four organizations, and never shot above 40 percent. At the age of 24, he
signed with Minnesota as a backup to Terrell Brandon. When Brandon got hurt in
2001-2002, Billups stepped into the starting lineup and helped the Timberwolves
win 50 games.
With Billups’ contract up, the Timberwolves chose a
recovering Brandon and the Pistons made one of the best free agent signings in
their history. In the next six seasons in Detroit, Billips would lead the
Pistons to four Eastern Conference finals, two NBA finals and one NBA title. He
topped 20.0 PER four times in those six years. He had 10.0 plus win shares in
five of the six, and the one he didn’t he had 9.9.
In the playoffs, Billups’ finest hour was the 2004 finals
against the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant Lakers. Detroit won over the heavily
favored Lakers in five with Billups leading the Pistons with 21.2 points per
game and winning the NBA Finals MVP. He had transformed himself from a guard
who couldn’t shoot into “Mr. Big Shot.”
The Detroit years was Billups’ zenith, but he also had a
couple more solid seasons before injuries kept him on the disabled list more
than the court his final four years. It took him until the age of 26 to become
a star, but then he put up eight excellent seasons, enough to grab a spot in my
top 50.
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Chauncey
Billups bio info
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Career
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1997-2014
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Games
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1,043
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Points
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15.2
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Rebounds
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2.9
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Assists
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5.4
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FG Pct.
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41.5%
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All-Star games
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5
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NBA MVPs
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0
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NBA Titles
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1
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Playoff seasons
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12
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Playoff games
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146
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Points
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17.3
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Rebounds
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3.4
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Assists
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5.7
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FG Pct.
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41.1%
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Hall of Fame
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Top 100
rankings
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Points
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Top 100 ranking
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1-year
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308.96
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74th
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5-year
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1,443.13
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45th
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10-year
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2,441.32
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55th
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Career
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2,981.51
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56th
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Chauncey Billups
at his peak
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2005-2006
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Billups
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Top 5
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Points
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PER
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23.4
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27.71
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Win Shares
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15.5
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15.93
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Box +/-
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4.7
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7.48
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VORP
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4.9
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7.37
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Total Advanced Stats
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48.5
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58.48
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82.93
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Playoff PER
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19.1
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27.86
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Win Shares
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2.7
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3.64
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Box +/-
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4.4
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8.28
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VORP
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1.1
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1.81
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Total Advanced Stats
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27.3
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41.58
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65.65
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Reg. Season Win %
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79.01
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79.01
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Playoff Win %
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55.56
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55.56
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MVP Voting (75 points)
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430/1,250
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25.80
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Playoff MVP (25 points)
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0
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0
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Total Score
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308.96
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Billups’ 10 greatest seasons
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2005-2006
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308.96
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2003-2004
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305.56
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2007-2008
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277.95
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2004-2005
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276.43
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2006-2007
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274.23
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2008-2009
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263.07
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2002-2003
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222.13
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2009-2010
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218.09
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2001-2002
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160.27
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2012-2013
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134.64
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Career
winning percentage
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W
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L
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Pct.
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Regular Season
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637
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406
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61.07%
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Playoffs
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79
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67
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54.11%
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