Greater than 20 years in the past, the Detroit Pistons shocked the world after they upset the Los Angeles Lakers within the 2004 NBA Finals to seize the franchise’s third NBA championship.
The Pistons had been heavy underdogs in opposition to the Lakers, however Detroit’s stars and position gamers had a near-perfect sequence that resulted in simply 5 video games.
Chauncey Billups served because the chief and catalyst for that title staff, constantly developing clutch all through the postseason and making good on his nickname “Mr. Big Shot.”
Billups is now head coach of the Portland Path Blazers and doing his finest to navigate that group’s rebuild.
Whereas the Path Blazers are doubtless years away from competing, Billups has one thing to rejoice as he was named a member of the Basketball Corridor of Fame’s 2024 class.
Forward of his enshrinement, Billups acknowledged the impression former Pistons head coach Larry Brown made on him.
“Nobody demanded more … nobody made me better … he’s been the biggest blessing for me,” Billups mentioned, by way of the NBA on X.
“Nobody demanded more… nobody made me better… he’s been the biggest blessing for me.”
Chauncey Billups talks concerning the impression Larry Brown made on his profession forward of his personal #24HoopClass enshrinement 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/o3rf0bRGkp
Brown was the chief of that Detroit championship staff and did an incredible job getting Billups and the remainder of his roster prepared for the postseason.
A no-nonsense kind, Brown was an amazing defensive thoughts who all the time discovered methods to fluster opponents.
Billups had his finest years as a participant underneath Brown, and it’s nice to listen to the Finals MVP acknowledge what his head coach meant to his profession.
Billups will go down as among the best level guards in historical past, and Brown positively had an enormous hand in that success.
