Throughout the history of the franchise, the Detroit Pistons have had countless high-level players suit up for them. One of the organization's biggest players of the 2000's finds himself close to being immortalized in basketball history.
During NBA All-Star Weekend, the finalists for the upcoming Basketball Hall of Fame class were announced. Among those named was longtime Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups.
Billups was a top three pick by the Boston Celtics in 1997 before making his way to the Pistons in 2003. He went on to play eight seasons in Detroit, averaging 16.5 PPG and 6.2 APG in that span.
Among the biggest accomplishments of Billups' Pistons tenure was being named Finals MVP in 2004. It was the last time Detroit took home an NBA title, knocking off the Kobe Bryant-led LA Lakers. In that series, Billups averaged 21.0 PPG and 5.2 APG across five games.
As far as the Pistons all-time ranks go, Billups sits in fourth place in assists with just under 3,000. His time in Detroit came to an end in 2009 when he was traded to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Allen Iverson.
After bouncing around the league for a couple more years, Billups' final run in the NBA came with the Pistons. He returned to Detroit in 2014, appearing in 19 games at the age of 37.
These days, Billups is still around the NBA. He entered the coaching ranks as an assistant in 2021 with the LA Clippers. The next year, he took over head coaching duties for the Portland Trail Blazers. During his time as head coach, Billups as a record of 75-143.
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