When the Magic acquired Chauncey Billups in February 2000, he was hurt. There was no chance he was ever going to suit up in a Magic uniform. Not a chance.
That was the Heart and Hustle year. The Magic just wanted to clear cap and Billups was nothing more than an expiring contract. Orlando shipped out Tariq Abdul-Wahad and Chris Gatling and got Billups and Ron Mercer‘s expiring contracts in return.
I am not even sure if Billups stepped foot in Orlando after his hometown Nuggets traded him.
When he did finally return to Orlando in March, he was not the player he would become. When he got to Detroit in 2003, it was time for him to take over. And he did that, pestering and toying with the Magic for much of the past decade.
He wrecked the Magic in a seven-game first-round series win in 2003, establishing himself as Mr. Big Shot and spearheading the Pistons title window. In that series, Billups averaged 22.6 points per game and 4.3 assists per game. That included a 40-point effort in Game Six (still the worst officiated NBA game I can remember seeing. . . yes, I am still bitter) and a 37-point effort in Game Six.
He did it again, time after time. Torturing Jameer Nelson in the 2007 first round sweep and then in the 2008 second round (even though an injury knocked him out of Games Four and Five as the Pistons wrapped up that series quickly).
Orlando could never get past Detroit and Billups was the reason. Fans could not help but celebrate a bit when the Pistons broke up their championship and sent Billups to Denver for another Magic killer, Allen Iverson.
On Tuesday, Billups told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports he planned to retire. And so, we tip our hat to one of the great Magic killers and congratulate Billups on a fantastic career of ruining our dreams and torturing us every time he took the court. He did it with class and humility, surprising everyone with his MVP performance in helping the Pistons win the 2004 title.
"“It’s just time. I know when it’s time. My mind and my desire is still strong. I just can’t ignore the fact that I haven’t been healthy for three years. I can try again and get to a point where I think I can go, but I just can’t sustain. Me not being able to play the way that I can play, that’s when you kind of know it’s that time.It’s just time. I’m happy, excited. The game was very, very good to me. I felt like I was equally as good to the game the way I played it and the way I respected it and the way I carried myself through the process.”"
For his career, Billups averaged 16.3 points and 5.5 assists per game in 37 games against the Magic. In his time with the Pistons from 2003-2009, he averaged 18.3 points and 7.0 assists per game in 21 regular season games. In 14 playoff games against the Magic, Billups averaged 22.6 points and 4.9 assists per game.
Pretty impressive numbers against one team.
Maybe the Magic should never have let him go despite the injury. He made us think that with the way he eventually emerged with those Pistons team.
His career took a tragic turn in Orlando as he tore his Achilles on the Amway Center floor during a Clippers overtime win in February 2012. He was never quite the same after that injury and his career certainly seemed closer to its end after that moment.
So, to one of the great thorns in our side: Happy retirement. . . and good riddance.