Chauncey Billups’ journey to the basketball Hall of Fame

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday in Springfield, Mass.

Such an honor didn’t seem possible during the first third of Billups’ NBA career, which began in Boston in 1997.

But Billups overcame early mediocrity to become a five-time All-Star and an NBA champion. Now, he will receive the ultimate honor.

“It’s just my journey,” Billups told reporters on Saturday. “Everybody’s is totally different. And I say this all the time, from the time that I was drafted to today, being on this stage and being here this weekend, like, it was a tough road for me. There was not a lot of traffic on that road.”

Here is a look at Billups’ journey to the Hall of Fame:

High school and college: At George Washington High School in Denver, Billups was named Mr. Basketball in Colorado three times, all-state four times, and a McDonald’s All-American. He played two seasons at Colorado and was named second-team All-America.

1997: The Boston Celtics selected Billups with the No. 3 pick in the 1997 NBA draft. But his career there didn’t last long. He averaged 11.2 points and 3.9 assists in 51 games before being traded.

February 1998: Billups was traded to the Toronto Raptors, where he played 29 games to finish the 1997-98 season. He shot just 34.9% from the field for the Raptors.

January 1999: Toronto traded Billups to the Denver Nuggets. His shooting struggles from the field continued (38.6%), but he improved his three-point shooting to 36.2%. Billups averaged 13.9 points and 3.8 assists per game. But, the following season, a shoulder injury limited him to 13 games.

February 2000: Denver traded Billups to Orlando, but his shoulder injury prevented him from ever taking the court with the Magic.

2000-2002: Minnesota signed Billups to backup All-Star point guard Terrell Brandon. With Brandon as his mentor, Billups’ play dramatically improved. Injuries to Brandon during the 2001-02 season led to Billups demonstrating his value as a starting point guard. His shooting percentage over two seasons with the Timberwolves jumped to 42.3%, and he shot 38.7 from behind the arc. In his second season, Billups averaged 12.5 points and 5.5 assists.

2002-2008: Billups became a free agent in 2002 and signed a five-year, $35 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, where he played for coach Larry Brown and later Flip Saunders.

Billups finished sixth in the voting for Most Improved Player after averaging 16.2 points and 3.9 assists per game.

In his second season with the Pistons, he helped lead them to the 2004 NBA championship over the Los Angeles Lakers and was named Finals MVP.

During the Finals, Billups averaged 21 points, 5.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and shot 50.1% from the field and 47.1% on threes.

Billups began racking up additional accolades while with the Pistons. He was named to four All-Star teams, two All-NBA teams, and two All-Defensive teams.

Billups averaged 16.5 points and 6.2 assists during his time with the Pistons.

2008–2011: Early in the 2008-09 season, Detroit traded Billups to Denver, and this time, he stuck. Billups helped lead the Nuggets to the 2009 Western Conference Finals by averaging 17.9 points and 6.4 assists per game.

He averaged a career-high 19.5 points with 5.6 assists during the 2009-10 season and received his fifth All-Star nod.

2011-2014: Despite his desire to retire in Denver, the Nuggets traded Billups to the New York Knicks.

He then spent two injury-riddled seasons with the LA Clippers and played his final season (2013-14) with the Pistons.