I’ve heard that you only live once, but legacies last forever. Not that Chauncey Billups’s basketball legacy needed any validation, but the Detriot Pistions will do just that tonight as they will retire his jersey. Billups has been a winner at every level; high school, college, NBA and even internationally. He has led teams to championships, most notably as the lead guard for the Detriot Pisions in 2004. Billups was also the NBA Finals MVP that year.
With all of his team and individual accolades it comes as no surprise that Billups will forever have his jersey hanging from the rafters in the Palace at Auburn Hills. Billups is a special basketball player. I, like many others was influenced by Chauncey from afar. Chauncey was my role model before I ever saw him play. In 1995 my father was an assistant coach at Oklahoma State University. Back then they were a college basketball powerhouse and my father routinely recruited the top players from around the country. During that summer he came home from a recruiting trip and was blown away by a point guard he’d seen from Denver, Colorado. I was surprised, as most of the time the players my dad recruited that caught his eye were from Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, or New York… but Denver?
My dad was so impressed by this kid named Chauncey from George Washington that he spent the next three or four hours describing in detail every play he made during the tournament. I remember hanging on every word he said, “Nick, you shoulda’ seen it, Chauncey came down froze one defender, split two other defenders with a behind the back dribble, and finger rolled it in. It was sweeeetttt.” After hearing my dad’s play by play I then went out to the driveway and attempted to master all of the moves my dad described to me.
Billups mentors many players in the area including former George Washington standout Thomas Bropleh.
A few months later my dad went on a recruiting trip to George Washington High School here in Denver to watch Chauncey play. I couldn’t wait for him to call me and give me the play by play recap of Chauncey’s dominant play. Of course after he did I went outside and mastered all of the moves my dad described. When my dad came home he brought home the Denver newspaper, which had a huge picture of Chauncey in his George Washington jersey on the front page of the sports section. I finally had a face to put with all of the moves I had been mastering.
Here we are twenty years later and as fate would have it, I now work alongside Chauncey at his sports performance facility in Highlands Ranch. Since the facility’s inception, we have developed a working relationship, a friendship, and even a big brother – little brother relationship. As our relationship has evolved what has been most impressive to me is that Chauncey Billups the person is far more special than Chauncey Billups the basketball player.
When he’s not going to the movies, concerts, church, or sporting events with his family he’s serving young basketball players here in Colorado as well as all over the world. From NBA All Star Kyle Lowry, to local high school stars who are now in college like Dom Collier, Josh Perkins, J.J. Griffin,and Eric Garcia to current high school player like De’Ron Davis, Sam Masten, and Jaizec Lottie, Chauncey mentors all of them. He watches their games, keeps in contact with their coaches and will drop everything to get in the gym and work with them. While most spent their New Years morning recovering from the prior night’s party, or preparing to watch football Chauncey was in the gym bright and early that morning working with a handful of local high school players. This was not a PR stunt, nor was it to make money, it was simply Chauncey being Chauncey.
Tonight, as they raise his Piston’s jersey to the rafters to commemorate his basketball legacy, we in Colorado should celebrate Billups for his commitment to being an ambassador, an advocate, an inspiration, and an active mentor to our young athletes in the Colorado community. His genuine commitment to them will ensure that he will not be the last player from Colorado to have their jersey hanging from the rafters of an NBA arena.
