The announcement was made on Saturday at the Men’s Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.
He will be enshrined at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, on August 16-17, 2024. Billups is the second player from the 2004 Detroit Pistons’ championship team to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Billups, drafted third overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1997 NBA Draft, bounced around the NBA before signing with the Detroit Pistons in 2002.
During his first stint with Detroit (2002-08), the Pistons made the playoffs in all seven years, winning Eastern Conference Championships in 2004 and 2005 and the NBA Championship in 2004. Billups, who won Finals’ MVP in 2004, posted a (.676) winning percentage in a Pistons uniform, which is the highest win percentage by a player in franchise history (Min. 300 games), and his 2,984 assists rank fourth in franchise history.
In 482 games with Detroit, Billups averaged 16.5 points, 6.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 33.8 minutes per game.
According to Joe Dumars, the architect of the 2004 Pistons and former president of basketball operations, there’s no title without Billups.
“We don’t win a third NBA championship without Chauncey’s leadership,” Dumars said. “When the ball was in his hands, you just knew he was going to make the right play. His skillset and accomplishments on the court, his competitiveness, and his sportsmanship validate this well-deserved honor.”
Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, who coached the 2004 Pistons, is excited to see Billups in the Hall.
“Seeing Chauncey elected to the Hall of Fame is so neat for me because his talent and leadership qualities are being rewarded at the highest level,” Brown said. “Chauncey impacted the game every single time he stepped on the basketball court and truly refined his skills throughout the course of his career. He was an unselfish facilitator, tremendous scorer, willing defender and delivered in clutch moments. It was a joy to coach him, and he taught me as much as I hope I was able to teach him. His basketball story is a great example for all players in the way he overcame adversity early in his NBA career and ascended to an NBA All-Star, NBA Finals MVP, and now a Hall of Famer.”
Billups, who played his final NBA season with the Pistons, went on to play 1,043 career NBA games over 17 seasons with Boston, Toronto, Denver, Minnesota, Detroit, New York, and the Los Angeles Clippers. He had career averages of 15.2 points, 5.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds.
Here are the 12 other players and coaches elected to the Hall:
Vince Carter, Seimone Augustus, Michael Cooper, Walter Davis, Charles Smith, Dick Barnett, Harley Redin, Michele Timms, Herb Simon, Bo Ryan, Doug Collins, and Jerry West
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