Is Chauncy Billups the best player in the NBA?

[moses millsap]

Name one guy on this list you wouldn't take over Chauncey:

Kobe
Lebron
Duncan
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Dwight Howard
Ginobili
Garnett
Pierce
Amare Stoudemire

I would take Chauncey over Manu and Pierce.

[moses millsap]

Top PGs:

Paul
Deron
Baron
Parker
Nash
------------------
Billups

Nash is a fraud. Horrible on the important end of the floor (defense). I would take Chauncey over both he, Parker, and Baron. Tony and Baron may be more dynamic players than Chauncey, but for my team, I want the PG with a higher level of recognition during the clutch moments of a game. Parker is above Baron AND Steve in that regard.

[moses millsap]

As for the question, he's not one of the 5 best at his own position, so no, he's nowhere near the best player in the league. Not even top 25.

I think he is one of the top 5 PG's in the league, but I agree that he is not in the top 25 players in the league.

[SBR Lou]

Chauncey was under the weather tonight.

Thor agrees I am sure.

[DrunkenLullaby]

So was this guy



when he did this...

Game 5: The Flu Game

Wednesday, June 11, at the Delta Center

Game 5, often referred to as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordan's most memorable. Just 24 hours earlier, on June 10, 1997, Michael Jordan woke up nauseated and sweating profusely. He hardly had the strength to sit up in bed and was diagnosed with a stomach virus or food poisoning. The Bulls trainers told Jordan that there was no way he could play in the game. The Jazz had just won two in a row to tie the series, and Chicago needed their leader in this critical swing game. Against all odds, Jordan rose from bed at 3:00 p.m., just in time for the 6:00 tip-off at the Delta Center.

Jordan was visibly weak and pale as he stepped onto the court for Game Five. At first, he displayed no energy whatsoever, and John Stockton, along with reigning MVP Karl Malone, quickly led the Jazz to a 16-point lead. But in the second quarter, Jordan started to sink shots despite lacking his usual explosive speed and hardly being able to concentrate. He scored 17 points in the quarter as the Bulls hit the front with a furious rally before halftime. The Jazz though reclaimed their lead and pushed it to 8 points early in the fourth quarter. But the Bulls went on a 10-0 run to take the lead again and the game would remain tight the rest of the way.

Jordan finished the game with 38 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block. Malone was the highest-scoring Jazz player with 19 points but suffered from some dreadful shooting, throwing up an off balance airball on the possession prior to Jordan's big 3. Malone would finish the second half 1 for 6 from the field. Jordan stayed on the court for 44 minutes, resting for only four minutes while being perpetually at the brink of fainting. With only a few seconds remaining and the game finally at hand, Jordan collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms.


...but hey, Mr. Big Shot did make a shot tonight.

[Tsoprano]

I would take Chauncey over Manu and Pierce.

Are you crazy? Manu and Pierce save their teams in multiple games and Pierce always comes through in tight situations. You must of not saw his 41 pt game to advance to the finals. Chauncey has been nothing but shit lately, he plays lazy, and if he would of stepped up even 10%, he could of got a win for the Pistons.

[jjgold]

Billups is not even a top 25 player in the NBA, his young backup is better than him.

[Data]

he is as clutch as they come...

This type of assessments is usually based on anecdotal evidence which is always inaccurate and frequently wrong.

There is a ton of statistical evidence that year after year Billups is a hands down the best player in Detroit. Likely, due to this reason he gets more clutch shot attempts than anyone else on his team. So, the question is, is he playing better during the clutch time or worse?

Here is a link to this season clutch play shooting stats.

Here are his numbers below:

Production per 48 Minutes of "Super Clutch" Time 
Team  Player  Gm  Min +/- +/- Fga  Fg%  3pA  3p%  Fta  Ft% Pts  Ast'd Reb Ast T/o Blk Stl
DET   Billups 24  33  39  +57 26.4 .389 10.3 .286 32.3 90% 52.8 28%   1.5 5.9 2.9 0.0 1.5

As you can see his shooting percentages are very unimpressive and that means that he is actually less effective during clutch time. In other words, he is more of a choke than a clutch.

[Data]

Name one guy on this list you wouldn't take over Chauncey:

Kobe
Lebron
Duncan
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Dwight Howard
Ginobili
Garnett
Pierce
Amare Stoudemire

I might have takem Billups over Amare but that would be a close call. However, from my perspective, Deron does not belong here. Neither his +/- stats, which are just league average, nor his Roland rating are of a superstar.