In Chauncey Billups' letter to his younger self, Mr. Big Shot advised young Chaunce to pick No. 1 when he signed with the Detroit Pistons to represent the 'one shot' he'd be given to run a team, the end of a journey to greatness. His one opportunity. No, nothing about an Eminem song. No. 1 is the number Billups chose and that's the number going up to be among the other Pistons greats' numbers on Wednesday night.
But more than simply grabbing his one shot by the horns, Billups persevered. While he was a successful college player and No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft, he faced road blocks along the way to NBA success that may have completely derailed other, weaker players. The Darkos who wouldn't want to put in the work. Five teams in six years. Chewed up and, as Billups put it, almost spit out. Billups didn't just get one shot and take advantage of it, he worked toward it and ultimately earned it. He then didn't let the big opportunity slip.
If Ben Wallace is the consummate Detroit Pistons player, an underdog with a blue collar work ethic, rising from the nothings of the undrafted, well, what does that make Billups? Detroit? A once proud prospect and No. 3 draft pick, crumbled to near despair only to emerge again... Yes! Detroit has fit Billups well.
A few years ago, when I wrote about the infamous trade of 2008, I called Chauncey Billups my Pistons hero of my young adulthood, what Grant Hill was to me as a young child first learning the game of basketball. Billups was my favorite player on my favorite Pistons team, and so naturally, I owned Billups paraphernalia, including his jersey.
I wore my Billups No. 1 jersey a lot. I mean a lot, especially in college after the Pistons won the 2004 championship. I wore it to study. It was my party attire even when I wasn't attending a jersey party. It was my beer pong uniform that -- true story -- led me to a one-time upset over Steph Curry. There are champagne stains on it that cannot be rinsed. Yeah, I can still smell it. I wore it enough that I still have college friends who greet me as P-P-P-Packey.
But I haven't worn it in a long time. Aside from putting it on when Billups returned to the Pistons in 2013-2014, it hasn't been a regular part of my wardrobe in at least eight years. As a 30-year-old Dad of two children now (well, one and another on the way), I can't say I foresee it ever being part of the ensemble again (not that there's anything wrong with Dads who like to wear jerseys on the reg).
But it will be unretired and worn for Chauncey Billups tonight. And tonight, probably for the very first time I have worn it, I think I can actually understand how much I truly appreciate Billups, his No. 1, not just as a basketball player but also as an inspiration.
After reading Billups' letter in The Players' Tribune, I've been inspired to think what I might say to myself if I were to write my younger self. Let's call it much worse and for The Bloggers' Saloon. I think I would tell my young self to not only relish the Billups years and drunkenly honor the great CB1 by wearing his jersey all the time, and to definitely beat a future NBA MVP and champ while wearing it, but to also take the time to try and understand the story behind the greatness, and try to apply some of that tenacity and leadership and responsibility to your own life going forward. You will fail sometimes and, like Chauncey, it will be up to you to turn the pit stops into the journey toward the ultimate destination. It will not be a No. 1 jersey (definitely not a No. 12) being retired for you -- that'll be in your closet collecting mothballs -- but you can still one day be a... [put on expensive designer sunglasses] Mr. Big Shot. And no, don't beat yourself up over that last line. Chauncey insisted "Nothing corny."
Thank you, Chauncey!