"It was unifying, it was magnifying and it was real": How Chauncey Billups rewrote Nuggets history

Editor’s Note: As part of the #DNVRWatches series, DNVR Nuggets is rewatching the Nuggets’ 2009 playoff run to the Western Conference Finals. For postgame podcasts recapping games 1-5 as well as the upcoming Western Conference semifinals and finals which we’ll be watching over the next several weeks, subscribe to the DNVR Nuggets Podcast on all major podcast platforms.

George Karl had a feeling that something was different about the 2008-09 Nuggets after only a handful of games.

“When we made the AI trade for Chauncey, we knew in two weeks that we were gonna be good,” Karl said on the DNVR Nuggets Podcast while reflecting back on the November, 2008 trade that sent Allen Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups. “Everybody. Not only the coaches, the locker room, everybody, the equipment manager, the strength coach. Everybody.”

The early-season trade which the Nuggets executed just three games into the 2008-09 season replaced what Karl called a “tug of war” between Iverson and Anthony over the ropes to Denver’s offense with a harmony of players working in unison. Billups turned out to be just what the Nuggets needed.

Two weeks after arriving in Denver, Billups was fully versed in the Nuggets’ playbook and up to speed on the team’s defensive philosophies. He was the leader and tough-minded presence that fit in perfectly alongside defensive stalwarts Kenyon Martin and Dahntay Jones, and also provided a secondary scoring punch next to Anthony.

“I think it lifted people up,” Karl said of the deal which gave Denver’s offense a defined pecking order.

Listen to George Karl on the DNVR Nuggets Podcast

Billups also came to Denver with pressure to win. The Nuggets were riding a streak of five-straight first-round exits heading into the 2009 playoffs although three of their four previous first-round defeats under Karl came at the hands of two eventual NBA champions (Spurs 2005, 2008) and one runner up (Lakers 2008). Still, Denver had mounting pressure to break through past the first round with Anthony.

In Game 1 of the Nuggets’ first round series against the Hornets, Billups met that pressure head on. While Anthony struggled through a 4 of 12 shooting night, Billups tallied a game-high 36 points on 10 of 14 shooting and converted on eight of his nine attempts from 3-point range leading the Nuggets to a 113-84 win.

Billups became just the third player in NBA history (Mookie Blaylock, Michael Finley) to shoot greater than 88% from beyond the arc and make at least eight 3-pointers in a playoff game.

In Game 2 it was Billups again, scoring a game-high 31 points and drilling all 11 of his free-throw attempts as Denver topped New Orleans 108-93 to take a 2-0 series lead. The Nuggets dropped game 3 on the road before blowing out the Hornets by 58 points in Game 4. Denver eased past New Orleans 107-86 in Game 5 at home for its first playoff series win since 1994.

What was most impressive about Billups in the series was the command that he showed across every facet of the game. Billups knew when to push the pace and when to settle into Denver’s half-court attack. He knew when to feed Anthony and when to exploit a mismatch elsewhere. Billups’ cavalry never panicked or wilted in the face of a Hornets run with him at the helm. He was strong defensively in the series too and while Jones smothered Chris Paul throughout the five games and held the Hornets’ point guard to 16.6 points per game on just 41% shooting from the field, Billups chipped on on Paul when needed.

“There’s two toughnesses. There’s mental toughness and there’s physical toughness,” Karl said. “I think mental toughness is actually more important than physical toughness. I think when players talk about toughness they’re talking more about physical toughness. An example is Chauncey. Chauncey came here. Was he a tough guy? He played in Detroit but Chauncey’s not going to create a confrontation. But there were very few players that I’ve coach that were as mentally tough as Chauncey was. His awareness. His ability to think the game before it happened. His ability to react to what is happening in the game in a positive manner.”

The calmness Billups brought to the floor stabilized the Nuggets throughout their first round series and was akin to the composure Denver currently plays with Nikola Jokic on the floor compared to when he’s off. Like Billups, Jokic is a master of knowing time and circumstance. At his best, Jokic knows when to push the pace and when to initiate Denver’s half-court offense, and in the playoffs last season Jokic showed that he can sense the moment when he needs to seek out his own offense and when he needs to share the scoring responsibility.

Midway through his rookie season, Michael Porter Jr. gained a sense for the on-court tranquility that comes when playing with Jokic once the 21-year-old’s minutes alongside the All-NBA center grew.

“He just has this, like, calming (effect),” Porter said in late-January. “When you’re on the court with him, it’s just calm. You know he’s going to make the right play. You don’t have to worry too much.”

Like Jokic, Billups was a coach on the floor, and it’s hard to imagine that anyone was more happier than Karl that the Nuggets pulled the trigger on the 2008 deal, a trade which catapulted Denver towards its most successful season in the 24 years since the franchise last made the Western Conference Finals in 1994.

“Chauncey walked in that room and his presence, it was unifying, it was magnifying, and it was real,” Karl said.