#1

[mercury]

The man deserves a thread on his night...
How many remember the day he was signed for the MlE?... It was Joe's first call at midnight.
IMO his best attribute was leadership... As LB called him the coach on the floor... He wasn't afraid to change the play and was willing to put the burden on his shoulders when it came to getting players on course.

Best memories?

[DBC10]

A true leader and the closest thing to a true star-player's coach in recent memory.

We could use another Chauncey right about now, now that it's purely a guard driven league. Salute.

[bballnmike]

Although he had lots of big shots, I'll always remember the halfcourt shot against the Nets, Game 5 of the 2004 playoffs, to force overtime. I can clearly remember where I was when it happened, at the Gameworks at Great Lakes Crossing mall (a giant arcade, like Dave and Busters with tv's everywhere, for those who haven't been). Everyone was sort of half playing games, half watching the Pistons. As soon as he made that shot the whole place went wild and started screaming and jumping around and dropped/gave up on whatever game they were playing.

Even though we would go on to lose in 3OT, I'll still never forget that shot.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j34kknIxK2U[/youtube]

[motorcity15]

Chauncey's letter to the Players' Tribune. A little lengthy but worth the read.

http://www.theplayerstribune.com/chauncey-billups-nba-letter-to-my-younger-self/

[thesack12]

My favorite Chauncey memory is of the personal variety.

It was after the first of the 2 games Detroit came to Indy to play the Pacers during the 2006 season.

After that game, I was in the post game area designated for family/friends like I always was after games. Most the players and a few of the coaches were there visiting with their people, but Chauncey was out there just chilling by himself. By this time some of the Pistons personnel knew me by name because I see them before and after every game they played in Indy. I motioned to him in a whats up kind of fashion, he then called me over. We had a short little convo about the game just played. I then asked him about what he thought of the new ball that was instituted that season, which led Chauncey into about a hilarious 15 minute rant on just how much he hated that new ball. Eventually I told him that I hadn't felt one or seen one up close yet, which led him to go back into the locker room and retrieve one. He then led me out on to the court to give me a hands on demonstration of what he was ranting about, lol. He shagged for me on a couple shots until a security guard told us we couldn't be on the court at that time. To which Chauncey replied, "He must be a Pacer fan" LOL.

Such a great player and even better guy. I hold an immense amount of fond memories of the guy.

[Bakuto]

My favorite Chauncey memory is of the personal variety.

It was after the first of the 2 games Detroit came to Indy to play the Pacers during the 2006 season.

After that game, I was in the post game area designated for family/friends like I always was after games. Most the players and a few of the coaches were there visiting with their people, but Chauncey was out there just chilling by himself. By this time some of the Pistons personnel knew me by name because I see them before and after every game they played in Indy. I motioned to him in a whats up kind of fashion, he then called me over. We had a short little convo about the game just played. I then asked him about what he thought of the new ball that was instituted that season, which led Chauncey into about a hilarious 15 minute rant on just how much he hated that new ball. Eventually I told him that I hadn't felt one or seen one up close yet, which led him to go back into the locker room and retrieve one. He then led me out on to the court to give me a hands on demonstration of what he was ranting about, lol. He shagged for me on a couple shots until a security guard told us we couldn't be on the court at that time. To which Chauncey replied, "He must be a Pacer fan" LOL.

Such a great player and even better guy. I hold an immense amount of fond memories of the guy.

This is awesome. I love Chauncey so much.

[SAKURABA216]

I teared up when I got to the part where he wrote "Detroit is your destination." My poor hometown. He needed us just as much as we needed him.

[SAKURABA216]

Great story sack, must have been around the time we had beef with the Pacers.

[SAKURABA216]

I just watched the retirement ceremony on youtube and noticed Joe Dumars wasn't in attendance and he didn't show up to Big Ben's ceremony either a few weeks ago. Does anyone know the reason for this?

Is he upset at being let go as GM? He can't be too mad at the team for that, he did sign Josh Smith afterall, but it would be a shame if there's still bad blood between him and the organization over being fired. If Rip could attend last night, so could Joe. Didn't Rip openly hate it here before he left?

[Pharaoh]

Even though the app sucks and I never post anymore I had to find a way for this.

That letter says it all...his one shot, that's all he was gonna get! Not only did he do better than expected but he was amazing!

Blessed to have been a fan through those years and this letter shows the character of the man!

Detroit is the destination! With a tear in my eye...

[thesack12]

Great story sack, must have been around the time we had beef with the Pacers.

It was a couple seasons after the heyday of the Pistons/Pacers rivalry (and the malice at the palace). By that time the Pacers had fallen off, and weren't true threats in the eastern conference anymore.

I still maintain that the '04 eastern conference finals was the best playoff series I have ever seen, and not just because I was in attendance all 3 games that were in Indy (sat about 10 rows behind the basket where "the block" happened, and still don't know where the hell Tayshaun came from)....

And yeah, that letter is such a great read. Thanks for the link motorcity.