Chauncey Billups discusses his new coaching gig with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Chauncey Billups is a basketball player that has had many different jobs throughout his career. Now he is the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and he loves it. He loves how his team is growing, and how they are becoming better players.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Point guards tend to flourish in the NBA because of their team-first mentality and analytical way of thinking about the game, much as catchers frequently make the greatest managers in baseball. When Chauncey Billups was a point guard in the NBA for years, he was known as the “coach on the court,” and many who coached him believed he’d be successful eventually — maybe even before Billups himself.
Now that he is the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Billups has realized that he enjoys mentoring much more than he ever imagined. The Portland Trail Blazers have had a difficult season, with studs Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum missing significant stretches of time and losing streaks to follow. When you hear Billups talk about his first year as coach, you’d never guess the routine was wearing him down.
Billups said before Portland’s game in Orlando earlier this week, “I’m learning something new every day, absolutely every day.” “It’s been a lot of fun since I like competing and teaching.”
“I often tell people that being a head coach is like being a CEO because you’re doing so many things that aren’t even basketball-related, and it may detour you off your course,” Billups said. As a head coach, you have a lot of responsibilities, but I like it.”
Chauncey Billups, the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, has had to deal with a lot of hardship throughout his career.
In a recent game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups congratulates star player Damian Lillard. | Getty Images/Steph Chambers
The season for the Portland Trail Blazers hasn’t been as pleasant as rookie head coach Chauncey Billups makes it seem when he talks about how much he’s enjoying his first year on the job. Before the bottom came out, the Blazers began 3-2 and climbed to 10-8. Portland lost 10 of 11 games during one especially tough period due to an abdominal injury to MVP player Damian Lillard and a collapsed lung to CJ McCollum.
While there were some rumours that Billups’ forceful, in-your-face manner irritated certain players, the coach could rest easy knowing he had Lillard’s support.
“It’s a player’s mind,” Lillard said of Billups style in a September media availability, according to Bleacher Report. “Smarter instead of harder. Like, ‘Why would you do this when you could be doing this? He’s thinking the game like a point guard.”
In early January, Lillard had surgery to treat a core muscle issue that was giving him significant abdomen discomfort. That injury is likely to blame for Lillard’s career lows in field goal percentage (40.2%) and 3-point accuracy (32.4%), as well as the Blazers’ 12-17 record in his 29 games. Lillard’s development will be assessed in late February, and the Blazers are optimistic that he will be able to play this season.
Chauncey Billups is astute enough to pay attention to the coaching suggestions he’s received.
During the 2003-04 NBA season, former Detroit Pistons All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups controls the ball. | G Fiume/Getty Images
Chauncey Billups, 45, is no stranger to the Trail Blazers’ struggles so far. Despite being the Boston Celtics’ No. 3 choice in the 1997 NBA Draft, he hopped about early in his career. He felt like he was at rock bottom in his career in early 2000, when he was pushed into a Denver/Orlando deal only to make the payroll figures work. He never even played for the Magic while recovering from a rotator cuff injury, but that period proved to be crucial for him, he said.
“It was crucial for me to be able to be well and rebuild myself,” Billups said. “I went from being the third selection in the draft to being tossed in on that deal” (to Orlando). It was vital for me to get off the mat and grind myself back up at that time because I had really fallen off.
“I also met Ben Wallace here (in Orlando), and we all know what happened with that relationship,” Billups remarked. “I was able to meet several crucial individuals in my profession because of that short little window.”
Billups eventually ended up in Detroit, where he won a championship alongside Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace in 2004. Billups played for Larry Brown, a no-nonsense mentor who influenced a lot of Billups’ current coaching approach.
“I had the good fortune of playing under a number of outstanding coaches, some of them are Hall of Famers.” “They taught me a lot,” he remarked. “You take a bit of what you liked from the instructors, and you steer away from the stuff you didn’t like.”
“I obviously had to do that because I didn’t have much coaching experience, and I realize that,” Billups said, referring to the good move he made this season to hire long-time head coach Scott Brooks to his staff. “My staff members all have more coaching experience than I have, so I spend a lot of time learning from them.” I realize and recognize that they’ve seen things I haven’t yet seen, and this is really a team effort.”
The Trail Blazers are already benefiting from Chauncey Billips’ teaching abilities.
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The significant growth that Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little have demonstrated this season is a result of Billups’ efforts as a tutor. Simons, who was named after Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway and grew up in Orlando, had 43-, 31-, and 31-point outings in January. Little, who is also from Orlando, is a human pogo stick of energy, and Billups praises the 21-year-old forward’s commitment to learn from his coaches. After Little’s 13 points, 10 rebounds, five offensive rebounds, and four assists in Portland’s 98-88 victory against the Magic on Monday, Billups couldn’t say enough good things about him.
With CJ McCollum’s comeback from a lung ailment and Jusuf Nurkic’s aggressive play, it’s simple to understand why the Blazers have won four of their last five games. While trade speculations surrounding the Blazers are expected to continue until the NBA Trade Deadline, Billups is optimistic that the team can retain its core together and develop together.
Billups has no doubts about his team’s potential to make a postseason push in the second half of the season. For the time being, though, he said his only emphasis is on relishing each day and striving for growth.
“All I worry about is that we play the game correctly.” We’ll give ourselves a shot if we play the correct way,” Billups said. “I’d say we’re hoping to make the playoffs, but we’ll see.” (The playoffs) aren’t a major issue for us right now because all I want is for us to keep improving and progressing. “Right now, I’m really enjoying how we’re playing.”
Already sounding like a seasoned instructor. Billups may be a new coach, but he already teaches and speaks as if he was meant to end up in this field since he was the “coach on the court” point guard years ago.
ESPN.com provided the statistics.
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