Auburn Hills, Mich. –Only the biggest names in the business hear their praises sung in Motown, whose stars includes The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and Bob Seger. So how did Pistons guard Chauncey Billups become Mr. Big Shot?
Chauncey has become as recognizable a brand name in Detroit as Chevrolet.
Anybody capable of reading a box score can see the 17 points Billups scored Thursday in a 102-71 Detroit rout that evened the NBA Finals against San Antonio at 2-2.
But the points Billups scores off the court are what have made him a local hero.
On his day off from a rugged best-of-seven series, Mr. Big Shot invested an afternoon to visit Grant Elementary in a section of Detroit as gritty as an Eminem song.
“Chauncey isn’t as tall as he looks on TV,” whispered one of 75 kids crammed into the tiny school gym Wednesday afternoon, when Mr. Big Shot entered a ceremony to dedicate a learning center. Sweat trickled down his shirt. To be the people’s choice, you have to go where the people live and not be afraid to get a little dirty.
“I can remember being your age and being told if I followed my dreams, anything was possible,” Billups told a young fan as he moved to the new reading lab. “I didn’t really believe it at the time.”
But look at him now. At 28, Billups is so grown up, he’s larger than life in Detroit, where he’s plastered on billboards.
Mr. Big Shot never has been invited to the NBA All-Star Game. But he has something that Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd, considered the Eastern Conference’s premier point guards, cannot list on their stellar résumés.
Billups owns an NBA championship, and he’s working on a second title, with San Antonio suddenly looking vulnerable against Detroit’s relentless defense, which forced so many mistakes by the Spurs their eyes rolled back in their dazed-and-confused heads.
“It was like a snowball effect,” Billups said. “We get one turnover and we convert it, and here comes another one and here comes another one.”
Maybe it’s time to reconsider how we define the best point guards of this era.
With all due respect to Tom Chambers and Micheal Ray Richardson, there’s doubt Billups is the most accomplished basketball player the state of Colorado has ever produced.
Mr. Big Shot needs to take aim at bigger ambition.
If Billups can lead the Pistons to a second consecutive championship, the second half of his NBA career should be dedicated to establishing credentials that can kick down the door to the Hall of Fame.
“People like to measure great players by points or rebounds. I pay more attention to a different statistic: winning,” Boston Celtics great Bill Russell said. “Look at Chauncey Billups. All he wants to do is win.”
Should this stunning reversal of fortune end in a Detroit victory parade, the odds-on favorite to be the most valuable player of the series would be Billups, who leads the Pistons in scoring and assists.
Since the NBA Finals began officially recognizing an MVP in 1969, check the players who have won the award at least twice. Magic Johnson. Larry Bird. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Willis Reed. Michael Jordan. Hakeem Olajuwon. Shaquille O’Neal. Tim Duncan. It’s an elite list. All are NBA legends who already have taken or reserved space in the Hall of Fame.
If Billups is good enough to twice be the No. 1 player on the game’s biggest stage, nothing’s impossible.
Of course, nobody will give him a Hall pass, just because he’s Mr. Big Shot.
Respect has been hard fought for a guard once considered expendable by the Nuggets. Fame will come easier.
Those two young admirers at Grant Elementary might be disappointed Mr. Big Shot stands only 6-feet-3 in his sneakers.
Funny. At the NBA Finals, Billups looks taller every time he walks in the room.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-820-5438 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
