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Chauncey Billups
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Is Chauncey Billups a Hall of Famer?
Yes.
No.
Check back with me when he retires.
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Former Piston Dennis Rodman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday. Many consider this a "win" for role players and guys with resumes that wouldn't make them automatic for the Hall.
Another ex-Piston may fit into that category. The 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, who got a community service award from the Hall of Fame last week, could be an interesting candidate when its time to vote.
Yahoo!Sports' Marc Spears delved into this subject recently. He spoke with Hall of Fame president and CEO John L. Doleva, who doesn't think Billups makes a compelling case for enshrinement.
“The body of work is very important,” Doleva said. “To think that the voters just look at a single portion of a career would be false. They do step back and take a hard look. It’s not a popularity contest, the hottest name. It’s a thoughtful process. It’s the entire game.
“Even community work helps a candidacy. I’m not in the prediction business, but I think Chauncey would be a solid nominee.”
• Related: Is Mark Aguirre a Hall of Famer?
Now, you may still be thinking, "Billups was a good player, but Hall of Fame?" Well, consider this: he's fifth all-time in three-pointers made and is the fifth-most accurate free-throw shooter in NBA history at 89.4%.
“From the last eight or nine years of my career I’m probably worthy,” Billups said. “I know that I got off to a tough start. But I’ve accomplished a lot, and I accomplished a lot the right way.”
Not to say Billups is a first-ballot guy. Rodman wasn't. Neither, much to the surprise of many, was Reggie Miller, who retired with the most threes made in NBA history. But compare Billups numbers to, say, his former boss and Pistons legend Joe Dumars (a 2006 HOF inductee), maybe Billups has a point.
Dumars: 16.1 points (16,401 points), 4.5 assists, 902 steals, 46% FG in 1,018 games.
Billups: 15.5 points (15,247), 5.6 assists, 1,022 steals, 42% FG in 982 games.
Dumars, of course, had a reputation as a player as a lock-down defender (four-time All-Defense first team). But Billups has the better three-point and free-throw percentages and has garnered the nickname "Mr. Big Shot" (for what that's worth)
http://www.freep.com/article/20110815/SPORTS03/110814021/Is-former-Piston-Chauncey-Billups-Hall-Famer-?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CSports%7Cp