Chauncey Billups, the former Detroit Pistons star, officially announced his retirement this week.
Billups, 37, has played 17 seasons in the NBA, winning the championship in 2004.
Billups became an unrestricted free agent when the Pistons declined a team option on the second year of a two-year contract.
Billups says he had “a couple of opportunities to play' but ultimately decided to retire.
“It’s just time. I know when it’s time,” Billups told Yahoo Sports. “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.”
Billups is best known for leading the Pistons to that 2004 title, and back to the NBA finals in 2005.
He formed the core of the team along with Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince.
Billups added that his best memories are of those years.
“Before that, my career was in jeopardy in a few different stages,” Billups said. “I persevered, sustained and continued to work hard, and finally got my opportunity in Detroit, and I never turned back from that point. That’s what made it so sweet to me to win a championship after what I went through. I had to scrap and fight to get through it and to reach the pinnacle made it even sweeter. ”
Winning the championship was the ultimate. I never set out to win the [Finals] MVP. Winning the championship was enough.”
