Chauncey Billups is happy to be back in Detroit this season after winning the title with the Pistons in 2004.But injuries continued to hobble Billups career.
Billups has been out since having minor knee surgery a few days ago and his timetable to return is 2-3 weeks. But according to the Detroit Free Press‘ Vince Ellis, Billups’ knee injury problems may lead him to retire early.
If he never plays another minute in a Detroit Pistons uniform, Chauncey Billups‘ legend and legacy with the team is complete. That’s a good thing to realize as it seems his career may be nearing its end sooner than expected.
After Chauncey Billups finished speaking to the media late Monday night, he was asked if Father Time had him up against the ropes.
Billups just smiled and said: “The gas light is on. I don’t know if there’s 15 miles or 30 miles left.”
His response caused an eruption of laughter — the only laughing going on in the Detroit Pistons locker room after the latest loss — a 104-96 loss to the Warriors.
Billups, 37, spoke to the media for the first time since he had minor left knee surgery several days ago.
The diagnosis is 2-to-3 weeks of rehab before a possible return, but Billups said he isn’t going to rush back.
So with only one year left (a team option) on his deal, is retirement a possibility?On July 16, 2013, Billups signed a two-year, $5 million contract to return to the Detroit Pistons/
“It all kind of just depends how this feels, how things are with the knee,” Billups said of a return next season. “If the knee is fine, sure I would like to come back. But if it’s not, I don’t want to come back to this.
“It’s tough to do this and we’re not a winning team at this stage. It’s tough to do that, but hopefully in a perfect world and my knee is fine … I feel like if my knee was fine we probably wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in.”
Billups’ Career
A 5-time NBA All-Star and a 3-time All-NBA selection, Billups has played for the Celtics, the Toronto Raptors, the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Detroit Pistons, the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Team USA. He won the NBA Finals MVP in 2004, helping the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals and was given the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for making late-game shots with Detroit.
In 2004, Billups was honored by the University of Colorado by being the fifth player to have his jersey (number 4) retired.
After his breakthrough season, Billups became a free agent. Billups had wanted to return to Minnesota, however the Timberwolves were engulfed in salary-cap issues and wanted to see how Brandon would respond to his knee injury.
In June 2002, Billups signed a six-year, $35 million contract with the Detroit Pistons 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 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 2005 NBA Finals again but lost in their bid to repeat as champions to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.
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.
Through his six years with Detroit, Billups made six straight conference championship series, two NBA finals, and won an NBA Championship. He was an All-Star three times, made the all-NBA team three times and All-Defensive second team twice.
