TORONTO – Chauncey Billups is used to being a presence at All-Star Weekend, but this one is different. The five-time representative won’t be playing in the Sunday showcase, but he will suit up for Friday’s Celebrity Game. And he’s still a focal point at media availability, although he’s now the one asking the questions instead of answering them.
Dressed in an understated suit and carrying a microphone followed by a camera crew, Billups bounces from table to table, tossing queries exchanging banter. A small group is gathered around Tyronn Lue, and Billups goes over to the side to get a good angle.
“Hey coach,” Billups says, and Lue chuckles.
“Why do you look so serious man?” Lue asks.
The former Finals MVP throws out a few questions to the new Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, including one about LeBron James before making his way across the Sheraton Centre ballroom. He daps up players and even other media members, and can’t seem to decide whether to wear a stoic look or a smile.
The transition from player to media member isn’t easy, but Billups is a true professional. And it’s unsurprising to see him take to his new job with the same passion and ferocity he had during his 17-year career in the league.
“I want to be elite at anything,” Billups says. “I’m going to work my behind off. The only way you become elite is through hard work and determination. You put a plan together and you try to execute that plan. That’s been the same for me in my new job. There’s no way at all that I’m elite right now, but some day I’m going to get to that level because I’m going to work toward that. I don’t believe in mediocrity at all, so that’s not something that I’m going to be okay with. I’m going to continue to get better at it.”
Billups breaks down film the way he always has, except that now his focus isn’t on the game itself, but instead the people broadcasting it. He’s watching who’s calling it, how they’re sitting, what their posture is like, what points they’re making, and whether they’re looking at the camera.
In his early time on screen, he’s noticed he can’t just be the “laid-back, cool, easygoing, even-keeled guy” but instead has to bring a lot more energy and change the level of his voice to avoid sounding too monotone. That takes practice, but it’s an easy shift for someone who’s used to taking thousands of jumpers a day.
It didn’t take long for the folks at ESPN to see they had something when Billups first signed on. He did his tour of the studio in the fall, talking with the crew, production, and talent, and it was clear that he was going to take this thing seriously.
“As soon as we finished the meeting, Chauncey left for his next stop,” ESPN commentator and NBA Countdown host Doris Burke says. “I turned to the producer and said, ‘He’s going to be great.’ He has great basketball intellect. As a point guard, it’s the perfect position to attack this job from. A point guard’s responsible for being aware of everything. He’s lived the life of the player, and there are times where you have to say difficult things about players, and your former colleagues and teammates.”
If that’s the part of the job he’s not quite comfortable with yet, Billups hasn’t let it show. Or at the very least, the respect he earned as a player has gone a long way. Guys still come up to him to see how he’s doing during All-Star Weekend at every turn, calling out his name, and making sure to say hello.
As Carmelo Anthony leaves the room on Friday, he walks with Billups, and the two chat as an entourage they seem oblivious to grows and grows. Anthony jokes with Billups about the Celebrity Game later that night, and Chauncey admits that he’s “got to take a couple pull-ups” while he’s on the floor.
The distance between Billups and his former colleagues will grow, and not in a bad way, but the longer it has been since his playing days, the easier it will be to observe the game from the outside. The struggle, of course, is in making that new role your identity when for so long all you knew was life as a player.
“He’s always had the knowledge and the gravitas of being Chauncey Billups,” ESPN coordinating producer Bruce Bernstein says. “But now it’s about having the confidence to know that his words matter. The further away from playing these guys get, the less it influences them. Then they can start to see not just the player’s point of view, but an objective look at things.”
It’s a big week, to say the least, for Billups. He had his jersey retired by the Pistons on Feb. 10, and penned a letter for The Players Tribune. He’s reflective and emotional as he speaks with friends and rivals alike, and he has a unique perspective on Kobe Bryant, who is playing in his last All-Star Game at the end of the weekend.
“It’s tough when you play at an advanced age because there’s some people out there that didn’t get a chance to see you in your prime,” Billups says. “And that’s the way they judge you. So that’s tough, but I don’t think that we’ve undervalued Kobe. I think he’s one of the top five greatest players in the game that I’ve seen, right behind Michael Jordan as one of the best shooting guards to play the game. I don’t think you can undervalue that.”
Billups isn’t concerned much about the Celebrity Game itself. As he sees it, he’s had his chance to show off in the All-Star Game before, and he’s had a few under his belt. He looks forward to playing with Elena Delle Donne, and helping facilitate so the “actual celebrities” can get going. If the Celebrity Game seems unstructured and chaotic, that’s because it is. Billups hasn’t met or practiced with anyone on his team ahead of time, and the game is essentially a chance to show up, get dressed, do some shootaround, and play.
“This is not my coming-out party,” Billups says. “This is not about me at all.”
For someone as competitive as Billups, unplugging in that way does have an effect on his game. While he’s draining jumpers in warmups, he can’t get hot after tipoff, missing a bunch of shots early.
Coach Kevin Hart (which is weird to even type) gets on him and starts shouting at him, and Billups pays absolutely no attention to him. This is something Billups predicts earlier in the day (“I’m pretty sure he’s going to be acting the fool up there and that alone will make it worse for me,” Billups says.). He still finds a way to pass the ball around and swings it to a surprisingly streaky Jason Sudeikis, who hits a couple threes.
Indiana Pacers star Paul George, who is participating in some spot sideline analyst duties during the game, takes a break from signing autographs and taking pictures with every kid who comes up to him to offer his expert opinion on what Billups needs to do differently in the second half to get going.
“He just needs to keep being Chauncey,” George says.
That always seemed to work for Billups as a player. As long as he does that in his new role as well, he should be just fine.
