Denver Legend Chauncey Billups Announces His Retirement from the NBA

Feb 7, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons shooting guard Chauncey Billups (1) moves the ball defended by Brooklyn Nets point guard Marquis Teague (12) in the second half at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit won 111-95. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Denver native and NBA great, Chauncey Billups announced his retirement on Tuesday. While Billups played a majority of his 17 year career with other teams, he will always be a Colorado sports icon.

It all started when Billups was a star basketball player for George Washington High School in Denver, he did things even as a freshman that still has people talking about those memories today. After high school, Billups stayed home and played his college basketball at the University of Colorado.

During his sophomore year, he led the Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament and a first round blowout over the University of Indiana. After two seasons in Boulder, Billups left for the NBA and enjoyed a career that anyone would be proud of.

Billups got off to a slow start in the NBA bouncing around the league including a stop in Denver, but his career took off when he landed with the Detroit Pistons. Billups was the unquestioned leader of a team that had no superstars but still won an NBA title in 2004. Billups was named the MVP of the 2004 finals and he had finally arrived as one of the game’s best.

All of that is great but Billups belongs to Denver and what he did for his hometown team in 2008-09 will never be forgotten. The Nuggets were a good team led by Carmelo Anthony but they struggled in the playoffs, losing in the first round became a rite of spring. The Nuggets were a luxury boat with no rudder until Billups arrived in November of 2008.

Billups immediately turned the Nuggets into a contender that season. He held people accountable, he made people including Anthony play a team game and he brought a winning attitude to a team in desperate need of leadership.

The Nuggets got better as that season went on and by the time the playoffs arrived, they were playing as well as anyone. They rolled through the first two rounds and gave the Los Angeles Lakers a run for their money in the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets had a second half lead in each of the first five games, and won two of them. They ran out of gas in a game six blowout but Billups led the Nuggets as far as they’ve ever gone.

The next season brought promise that 2008-09 was only the beginning but not even the professionalism and leadership of Billups could overcome the selfishness of the team. Anthony, Kenyon Martin and others reverted back to worrying about their numbers and their touches. Billups tried to get them to play the way they had the year before but to no avail, and he eventually got tired of trying. The Nuggets returned to a talented team with no direction and resumed their habit of losing in the first round.

Billups was included in the deal that sent Anthony to the New York Knicks and that angered many fans. Very few cared about Anthony at that point but the fact that Billups had to be sacrificed to get the deal done was a sore spot for Nuggets’ fans. He was and is one of Colorado’s own and he should’ve finished his career here.

Above anything on the court though, Billups is one of the good guys in sports. He’s a leader, a great teammate and has always remembered where he came from. To this day, Billups is known as the King of Park Hill-the neighborhood he grew up in.

Now Billups career is over and he returns to Colorado where he now joins the likes of John Elway and Joe Sakic.

Congratulations on a great career Chauncey and welcome home!