Denver Nuggets: 25 Best Players To Play For The Nuggets
By Phil Watson
<strong>How acquired: </strong>Trade, Toronto Raptors, Jan. 21, 1999; Trade, Detroit Pistons, Nov. 3, 2008.. PG-SG. 1999-2000, 2008-11. Chauncey Billups . 10. player. 73
The Denver Nuggets had their first go-round with Chauncey Billups after the lockout in 1999, acquiring him from the Toronto Raptors as part of a three-team trade in January of that year along with Tyson Wheeler in a deal that sent Dean Garrett and Bobby Jackson to the Minnesota Timberwolves and a first-round pick in 1999 to Toronto.
He played parts of two seasons in Denver before being traded with Ron Mercer and Johnny Taylor in February 2000 to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Chris Gatling, Tariq Abdul-Wahad and a future first-round pick (that later became Omar Cook in lieu of the draft pick in June 2001).
Chosen third overall by the
out of Colorado in the 1997 NBA Draft, Billups had been traded to the Raptors in February 1998 before going to the Nuggets.
Billups never played for Orlando because of a shoulder injury and was considered a big-time draft bust at the point he signed with the Timberwolves in August 2000.
In July 2002, he signed with the Detroit Pistons, where he earned Finals MVP honors while quarterbacking the Pistons to the 2004 NBA title.
In November 2008, Billups came back to Denver with Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb in a trade that sent Allen Iverson to Detroit.
Billups was a two-time All-Star and an All-NBA pick in 2009-09 during his second stint with the Nuggets, finishing fourth in the NBA in free-throw shooting in both 2008-09 and 2009-10.
He left for good in February 2011 as part of a three-team trade, sent to the New York Knicks with Carmelo Anthony, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter and Shelden Williams in a trade in which Denver also sent a second-round pick in 2015 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and got back Kosta Koufos from the Timberwolves and Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, cash, second-round selections in 2012 and 2013 and a 2014first-rounder from New York.
In parts of five seasons with the Nuggets, Billups averaged 16.9 points, 5.3 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 33.4 minutes per game, shooting .414/.392/.912.
Billups was waived by the Knicks in December 2011 and signed two days later with the Los Angeles Clippers.
In July 2013, he returned to Detroit as a free agent, retiring in September 2014 after his option was not picked up.
Billups is 10th in NBA history with 1,830 3-pointers, 41st with 5,636 assists and sixth with a free-throw percentage of .894.
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