Chauncey Ray Billups (born September 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball with the Colorado Buffaloes, he was selected third overall in the 1997 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Billups spent the majority of his 17-year basketball career playing for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he won the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 after helping the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. He was given the nickname " Mr. Big Shot" for making late-game shots with Detroit. A five-time NBA All-Star, a three-time All-NBA Team selection and two-time NBA All-Defensive selection, Billups also played for the Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers during his NBA career. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Billups worked as a studio analyst after his retiring from playing in 2014. The Pistons retired number his No. 1 jersey in 2016. He started coaching as an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2020–21 season. Billups was appointed as head coach of the Trail Blazers in 2021. In 2024, it was announced that Billups would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Billups was on the injured list until season's end due to an injured shoulder and never played a game for the Magic. Despite this, he was included in the season-ending team photo. Among NBA circles, Billups was considered a draft bust.
In his first career game with the Timberwolves, Billups recorded 15 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists in a 106–98 road win over the Houston Rockets. On November 11, 2000, Billups recorded his season-high in terms of points scored with 31 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 9 assists in a 103–92 road win over the Bucks.
During the 2001–02 season, Brandon suffered a serious knee injury. Billups replaced him and had a breakthrough 2001–02 season. The Timberwolves won 50 games before they were swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs, with Billups averaging 22 points per game in the series.
In July 2002, Billups signed a 6-year, $34 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.
In 2002–03, Billups helped Detroit finish first overall in the Eastern Conference with a 50–32 regular season record. Billups earned the nickname "Mr. Big-Shot" during the regular season for two events. He first made a game winning three on March 9 as time expired to beat the Golden State Warriors 107–105 and Billups scored 31 points. The second event was just over two weeks later on March 26. The Pistons were tied in overtime with the Atlanta Hawks 99–99 until Billups made a top-of-the-key triple with 0.5 seconds left to win the game. Billups finished with 22 points against the Hawks. In the 2003 Playoffs, the top-seed Pistons surprisingly fell behind the upstart 8-seed Orlando Magic in the first round series 3 games to 1. In game 5, Billups played a contributing role in his team's dominating 98–67 victory by scoring 15 points, tied for second on the Pistons. Having helped the Pistons stave off elimination in Game 5, Billups scored 40 points in game 6 to help the Pistons force a seventh game. In the decisive Game 7, Billups scored 37 points to help clinch the series 4–3.
Detroit then beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, 4–2, to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. However, Detroit would be swept by the New Jersey Nets, 4–0. Rick Carlisle was fired as the head coach in the offseason and Larry Brown was hired.
In the pivotal Game 3 during the first round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, which was tied 1–1, Billups led all scorers with 21 points and finished the scoring for his team by sinking 4 of 4 free throws in the final 31.2 seconds. These free throws were a key part of the Pistons effort to stave off the Bucks' relentless defense which kept Detroit from scoring a normal field goal during the last 5:34. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals versus the defending Eastern Conference Champions the New Jersey Nets, Billups banked in a half-court three as time expired in game 5 to send the game into overtime. The Pistons would lose in triple overtime. Finally, he helped Detroit overcome a 3–2 series deficit to win the series, 4–3.
In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, the Pistons won the gritty, defensive series, 4–2, by an average score of 75.2 PPG to the Pacers' 72.7 PPG.
Billups helped Detroit win the 2004 NBA Finals over the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers, 4–1. He averaged per game 21 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, as well as shooting 50.1 percent field goals, 47.1 percent three-pointers, and 92.9 percent free throws to earn the NBA Finals MVP Award. Billups said of his MVP award, "Everybody deserves this. Not just me. I wish I could turn it into thirteen pieces and give a little bit to everybody."
In 2006, Billups was co-captain of the team. Billups was selected to play in the 2006 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference, along with teammates Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace. Pistons head coach Flip Saunders coached the Eastern Conference squad and put all four Pistons in the game when the east was falling behind; they were able to get the Eastern All-Star team back in the game. During the 2006 NBA All-Star Weekend, Billups participated in the Three-point Shootout contest. He was eliminated in the first round of the contest after scoring 12 points. Billups called this moment when all four Pistons entered the game at the same time, one of the highlight moments of his career. 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.
In the first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, during Game 3 against the Orlando Magic, Billups injured his right hamstring when Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson tangled with Billup's left leg on a drive to the bucket. Billups would sit for the 3 remaining games of the series. Billups and the Pistons again made it to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics, but lost the series, 4–2, to the eventual champions.
Billups chose the #7 jersey to honor Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, since two of his other favorite numbers, 1 and 4, were already worn by J. R. Smith and Kenyon Martin, respectively. He played his first game of the Nuggets' 2008–09 season on November 7, 2008. He recorded 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of play in a 108–105 Nuggets' home win. Anthony leads way for Nuggets with 28 points in slim victory over Mavs – ESPN. scores.espn.go.com (November 7, 2008). Retrieved May 27, 2012. Billups was the only Nugget to be selected to the 2009 NBA All-Star Game. He finished the season averaging 17.7 points and 6.4 assists per game.
With Billups and Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets accomplished a number of franchise milestones. Their 54–28 record matched a franchise record, and their 27–14 start was also a franchise record for wins in the first half of a season. This also marked the first time in the franchise's history the team had gotten 50 wins in back-to-back seasons. They led the Northwest division for much of the season, eventually winning the division and gaining the number two seed in the Western Conference, matching the highest the team had ever been seeded for the playoffs. In the first round, they defeated the New Orleans Hornets in 5 games, which included a record-equaling 58-point margin-of-victory. Billups also set a Nuggets franchise record with the most three-pointers in a playoff game with 8, and his 19 three-pointers in total is a Nuggets record for threes made in a playoff series. In his first year with the Nuggets, Billups led them back to the NBA Conference Finals for the first time since 1985. They would play the Lakers for the second straight year (the Lakers had swept them in the first round the year before). The Nuggets would ultimately lose the series 4–2. This was Billups' 7th straight conference finals. He joined Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kurt Rambis as the only players to accomplish this feat since the Boston Celtics of the 1950s and 1960s led by Bill Russell. Billups finished the season sixth in voting for the 2009 NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He was also selected to his second All-NBA Third Team. For the 2009–10 season, Billups reverted to wearing #1, the same number he wore with the Pistons. Teammate J. R. Smith, who had previously worn #1 since being acquired by the Nuggets in 2006, changed to the #5 jersey. Denver Nuggets official website. NBA.com. Retrieved May 27, 2012. On November 27, 2009, in the Nuggets' 128–125 win over the New York Knicks, Billups scored 32 points while teammate Carmelo Anthony scored 50. This made them only the third duo in NBA history to score at least 30 and 50 points respectively. On February 5, 2010, Billups set a career high in points with a 39-point performance in a road win over the Los Angeles Lakers with 27 of them coming from 9 three-pointers. Billups was chosen as the replacement by David Stern for injured New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul at the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. During the 2010–11 season, he averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 32.3 minutes per game. His .441 three-point field goal percentage was a career high.
The Knicks finished 42–40 and clinched the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Billups suffered a knee injury while playing against the Celtics in Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The injury would keep Billups sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.
Shortly after the Knicks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, Billups mentioned he would love to return to the Knicks next season. "I would love the opportunity to really try it up with these guys", Billups said. "Not like play 30 games after a trade, like really have a season. Have an opportunity to really get a fair shake with these guys. I would love to." In December 2011, the Knicks used their amnesty clause on Billups and put him on waivers, ending his tenure with the Knicks.
Billups, a point guard, was moved into the shooting guard position, which he was still getting used to when he was injured. On February 7, 2012, an MRI revealed a tear in Billups's Achilles tendon, ending his season after only 20 game appearances. Billups helped the Clippers beat Miami, Oklahoma City, Orlando, and the Los Angeles Lakers en route to a 19–9 start.
On July 13, 2012, Billups re-signed with the Clippers on a one-year deal. He made his season debut on November 28, 2012, against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was limited to only 22 games during the season because of various injuries, including a sore back and tendinitis in his left foot.
On June 10, 2013, Billups received the inaugural Twyman–Stokes Teammate of the Year Award. He was humbled by the award and said, "For my name to be mentioned with [Jack Twyman], I really don't feel worthy, to be honest with you. It's kind of embarrassing." During the 2012–13 season, Billups averaged a new career high free-throw percentage. He became a free agent after the season.
On June 30, 2014, the Pistons announced they would not pick up their team option on Billups' contract for the 2014–15 season.
On September 9, 2014, Billups announced his retirement from the NBA after 17 years. Billups cited his health as the main reason for his retirement, as he never appeared in more than 22 games in his last three seasons in the league.
On February 10, 2016, the Pistons retired Billups' No. 1 jersey.
On April 13, 2025, Billups and the Trail Blazers agreed to a multiyear contract extension.
Billups is the first cousin of running back LenDale White. His second cousin Amir Billups of the Buffalo 716ers was killed in a 2015 car accident.
Billups wore the #4 through high school and college and at times during his professional career because he idolized former Pistons guard Joe Dumars, the Pistons' President of Basketball Operations during his time with Detroit.. nba.com. His favorite NFL team is the Denver Broncos.
Billups was featured on the cover of the video game and is the player's mentor.
On June 16, 2008, Billups appeared at Joe Louis Arena for a Barack Obama rally. (June 17, 2008)
The Coors Events Center has a large mural of Billups in the northeast corner of the arena as part of his "Chauncey's Kid Roundup" program.
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