There are few players not yet in the Hall of Fame with a better resume than Chauncey Billups. In high school he was a Parade All-American in both 1994/1995. In college at Colorado he was a 2nd-team All-American and led the Buffaloes to their 1st NCAA tourney appearance in almost 3 decades. After being drafted 3rd overall in 1997 he was named NBA Finals MVP in 2004 and made 5 straight All-Star appearances from 2006–2010. Now we get to see what kind of a coach he is after Portland hired him to run the show last June. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Dave Logan, who played both basketball/football at Colorado, about Chauncey beating Indiana in the 1997 NCAA tourney and being a great shooter. Today is Chauncey’s 45th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
After being a 4-time All-State 1st-team pick at George Washington High School and starting on the varsity as a freshman, Chauncey was selected to the 1995 McDonald’s All-American Game: how dominant a player was he in high school, and how frustrating was it for him to miss the All-American Game due to a shoulder injury? I was just getting into my broadcasting career back then so I saw many of his high school games. He could dominate in multiple ways and was a fairly physical defender so it was obvious that he had a great skill set. I was hoping that he would stay in-state even though he could have gone anywhere.
In the 1997 NCAA tourney he scored 24 PTS in a win over Indiana: how big a deal was it for the Buffaloes to win their 1st NCAA tourney game in more than 25 years? It was a big deal for everyone in the state. I played both football/basketball at CU and knew how tough it was for us to have continued success. I remember watching that game against the storied tradition of the Hoosiers and a great coach in Bobby Knight. It was special to see 1 of our own on a national stage lighting it up!
In the 1st round of the 2003 playoffs his Detroit Pistons became just the 7th team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 playoff deficit as they beat Orlando: how were they able to win the final 3 games? Back in the day the team played so selflessly and I attribute a lot of that to Chauncey. Coach Larry Brown deserves a lot of credit for recognizing his skill set: most of Chauncey’s previous teams tried to pigeonhole him into a 1 or 2, but Larry allowed him to be a combo guard. That team was a lot of fun to watch.
Take me through the magical 2004 Finals against the Lakers:
On the team bus heading to the airport after an 8-PT OT loss in Game 2 he told everyone, “We’re not coming back to LA”: why did he say it, and what was the reaction of the team? I was a huge Laker guy growing up and liked their style of play. It does not surprise me because he is a born leader and is a highly competitive guy. He is exactly what Detroit needed because few people thought they had a chance to win.
He was named Finals MVP after beating LA’s lineup of 4 future Hall of Famers (Karl Malone/Gary Payton/Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal): how did that series end up changing his life? I think it was validation for many people outside of Colorado who did not think that he had those abilities. It was the epitome of team basketball and he was the leader.
On November 19, 2004 he scored 13 PTS in a 15-PT loss to Indiana: what are your memories of the “Malice at the Palace”? I watched it on TV and remember seeing guys go into the stands, but I do not recall seeing him partake in that ugly moment.
In 2006 as a team co-captain he led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio: what is the key to being a great PG? You need a selfless attitude, great court awareness, and terrific vision. The game is about angles and you need to see things both in front of you and all around you. He was an excellent passer and stronger than your prototypical PG, which made him a challenge to defend. He was too big for opposing PGs and too quick for opposing SGs. He has always had the PG mentality of running the show and making everyone better.
In Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals LeBron James scored 48 PTS including each of his team’s final 25 PTS in a 2-PT 2-OT road win by Cleveland after Chauncey’s shot at the buzzer rimmed out: was it just a situation where every shot LeBron took seemed to go in because he was “in the zone” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx4z_pCA_6k)? LeBron just took the game over physically: I could not believe what I was seeing. This was a playoff game but they had no answers for him. It was 1 of the 1st times I realized how great he was: I played 10 years in the NFL and still believe that LeBron could have played pro football.
In his 6 years with Detroit he made 6 straight Eastern Conference Finals: how was his team able to be so dominant for such a long stretch of time? Larry Brown was a brilliant coach and could impart his knowledge on his players and get them to buy in. He shared the recipe of being a winning team: pass the ball and play hard-nosed defense…but it also helped that they had a bunch of good players!
His 89.4 career FT% and 1830 3PM remain in the top-20 in NBA history: what was his secret for being such a great shooter? I think it is just confidence that every time the ball leaves your hand it is going in. He finally realized how good he was after a few years in the NBA due to his high basketball IQ, but he had solid fundamentals going back to high school.
His younger brother Rodney played PG for the University of Denver and his cousin LenDale White played RB in the NFL: who is the best athlete in the family? I coached LenDale in high school and Rodney was later head coach at Denver. LenDale was a terrific athlete as a 230-pound RB who had great feet and tremendous hands. Chauncey was a really good athlete and could have been a great strong safety. If we had a Superstars event for all of them it would have been great!
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As 1 of the great players/leaders during his career. He has done things the right way and been 1st-class both on and off the court. I have the utmost respect for him and his accomplishments/character make him 1 of the best.