With the 2004 NBA title under his belt, Chauncey Billups has already won a world championship, but as he said Wednesday, “I want to win a world, world championship.”
That’s Olympic gold, 2012 in London. But first are the world championships later this year.
“If I had that opportunity, I would cherish it,” Billups said.
Billups and teammate Carmelo Anthony will join 25 other players at July’s Team USA training camp in Las Vegas, where the roster will be determined for the 2010 world championships (Aug. 28-Sept. 12). Nuggets coach George Karl and Team USA chairman Jerry Colangelo said Billups, 33, could be the important elder statesman on the team, providing leadership and poise.
New Orleans guard Chris Paul is undergoing knee surgery and is out for a couple of months. Utah guard Deron Williams will return, and other point guards in the mix are the Bulls’ Derrick Rose, the Clippers’ Eric Gordon and the Thunder’s Russell Westbrook.
“I think Chauncey would be excellent,” Karl said. “The mentality to the team is probably as important as the talent. It’s not easy winning that gold medal — teams are getting better.”
“We believe it’s extremely important,” USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said about the worlds. “The world looks at it as the world championships. There are 24 teams involved, whereas only 12 are involved for the Olympics.”
