Chauncey Billups pens must read letter on Player's Tribune

When I was a kid, the first Nuggets jersey I ever received was a Jalen Rose navy blue edition the team wore from 1993-2003. But the first Nuggets jersey that I purchased for myself? That would be the powder blue No. 7 jersey of Mr. Big Shot, Smooth… of course Chauncey Billups — the King of Park Hill.

During halftime tonight at the Palace at Auburn Hills, the Pistons will honor Billups with a jersey retirement ceremony. Billups played for the Pistons from 2002-2009 and led the team to the 2004 NBA Finals Championship over the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers 4-1. The series wasn’t much of a contest, as Billups and Co. easily handled Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Rick Fox, Luke Walton, Derek Fisher and Co.

Lakers vs. Pistons: 

In that series, Billups won Finals MVP honors by averaging 21.0 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 38.4 minutes per game. But that series wasn’t about Billups vs. the Lakers. It will always be remembered as Team vs. Stars. Billups was joined by the guys above in the photo, notably: head coach Larry Brown, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, Mehmet Okur, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Lindsey Hunter.

Today, Billups published an article on the Player’s Tribune titled: Letter to My Younger Self that is an absolute must read. Here is a snippet from Billups on his first go-round with the Nuggets:

In Denver, you’re going to play for Coach Mike D’Antoni. This will be Coach D before those Phoenix years, before “Seven Seconds or Less,” before all of his accolades — but he’s still going to be that same experimenter, that same thinker, that same outside-the-box type of guy. Y’all are going to have Nick Van Exel — a veteran, and a really good player still — entrenched at the point on that team.

But Coach D will have an idea.

He’ll say, “You know what, screw it — I’m just starting my two best guards, period. I don’t care what positions: The one, the two, it doesn’t matter. I want the guys who can play to play.”

And you’ll take him up on that offer.

When Billups came back to the Nuggets in a trade featuring Allen Iverson on Nov. 3, 2008 it was billed at the time as a deal to revamp the Pistons. But that deal was really about the Nuggets finding the exact leader that the team needed. The Nuggets, famously, challenged the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals and infamously came up short. That series put the Nuggets on the map and showed Billups’ greatness as he helped guide the team to heights never before reached by Carmelo Anthony.

Thankfully, Altitude TV will be broadcasting the ceremony tonight during the game so we can all watch.

@dempseypost and so you know @AltitudeTV going to cover whole halftime ceremony. Asking him to join us in 2nd half too.

— Scott Bay (@TeamNuggetsTV) February 10, 2016

Just how important is Billups to current players? Look no further than Denver’s own Wilson Chandler, who sent this tweet out this morning in anticipation of tonight’s events.

Congrats to Chauncey Billups aka Mr. Big Shot. Denver’s finest.

— Wilson Chandler (@wilsonchandler) February 10, 2016

I’ll be sure to watch tonight’s festivities and thank you Billups for such a wonderful and remarkable career.