Goodbye Chauncey Billups
My favorite NBA player is Chauncey Billups. Not because he’s a Detroit Piston (though that certainly helps, and contributed to my interest,) but because of the player that he is. He’s so damn cool, collected and talented at the same time. He’s “Mr. Big Shot,” the guy you wanted with the ball in the last seconds of the game. When he went to the free throw line, you knew he was money (he was the best in the NBA last season.) He could knock down a 3-pointer with the best of them. He could drive to the basket and either put up a sweet layup or dish out a behind the back pass like he had eyes in the back of his head.
One of the best parts of Billups was how he acted off the court. In interviews he was calm and collected, and always respectful of other players and the game itself. He had a great poise about himself as he encountered different situations, and he had that walk and demeanor about him tha said “I’ve got it figured out.”
I own two Chauncey Billups Detroit Pistons jerseys. Unfortunately they are now collectors items. On Monday, Chauncey was traded to the Denver Nuggets along with Antonio McDyess and Cheick Samb for Allen Iverson.
I first became a major fan of the NBA in the summer of 2003. I had caught some glimpses of their playoff battle with the Orlando Magic, and their stunning comeback in that series. Who was this guy with the ‘fro? Who was this lanky guy named Tayshaun Prince? And who’s the guy with the funny name of “Billups?” THen they drafted Darko Milicic (who fascinated me for some reason,) and hired Larry Brown. This seemed very interesting. Then they went on to win the NBA Championship. This was the first team I ever followed for an entire season and they won it all. It was amazing.
So began a wonderful relationship. I’ve followed the Pistons intently over the past four seasons since. I’ve studied the rosters, read the blogs, attended the games and bought the merchandise. It’s been really fun. And despite the disappointment of losing in one NBA Finals and 3 consecutive Eastern Conference Finals, I’m still excited about the Pistons.
But trading away my favorite player? Why’d they have to do that? It does take a little of that away from me. I think as you get more into sports, you begin to like players more and franchises less. I’ll always like the teams around my area, it’s natural. But I’m starting to appreciate watching players like Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace more for the names on the backs of their jerseys than on the front. It’s why I liked USA Olympic basketball so much and why I like the NBA All-Star festivities. It’s just cool to see so many of my favorite players all at once.
Anyways, while the oming of Allen Iverson to Detroit is better for the team in the long run (he has an expiring contract that, combined with Rasheed’s coming off the Piston’s books next summer, provides Detroit with the ability to bring in some huge stars,) it just sucks to see the official end of an era. Billups, Prince, Hamilton and Wallace had about 20 more games to go to break the record for most games started together. It would have been nice to see that, but it’s no longer a possibility.
I’ll still be a major fan of the Pistons, but it might ake me a while to find a local player that I enjoyed as much as Chauncey. Who’s jersey will I buy next? Anyone’s? We’ll have to see.