Chauncey Billups Announces He's Retiring From NBA
DENVER (CBS4) - After 17 seasons in the NBA Chauncey Billups is retiring.
"I'm happy and at peace with my decision to retire," Billups told CBS4's Vic Lombardi. "It was a great ride. I gave the game all I had. And had the time of my life."
Billups, 37, was a three time Mr. Colorado Basketball at George Washington High School in Denver, a McDonald's All-American, and was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame. The Colorado High School Activities Association lists his high school average as 23.8 points per game, and note that his Patriots won two 6A championships.
The point guard then he took his talents to Boulder and played for the University of Colorado Buffaloes, leading them to the NCAA tournament. At CU he was honored in 2004 as only the fifth player to have his jersey number (No. 4) retired.
The Boston Celtics picked Billups third in the 1997 NBA Draft, and as a pro Billups played for the Denver Nuggets on two separate occasions and during his second stint was honored with the NBA Sportsmanship Award.
His best days in the NBA came in Detroit for the Pistons. That's where he developed into "Mr. Big Shot" and led the team to a title. He was the 2004 NBA Finals MVP.
In recent seasons he was limited by injuries.
In addition to the Nuggets, Celtics and Pistons, Billups played for New York, Minnesota, Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Billups was born in Denver in 1976. He has given back to his hometown by setting up the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy at Regis University and has served on the board for the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.
