He doesn?t strike an intimidating pose.  In fact, he doesn?t even look much like a basketball player.  At 6?3? and 202 lbs, if you think sports, you might conjure the image of a defensive back in football, or a baseball outfielder.  However, Chauncey Billups has steadily and quietly become one of the best players in the NBA.

He came into the league in 1997 as a 21-year-old, the third pick in the draft out of Colorado.  But he didn?t get steady playing time and bounced around six teams in his first four years, including sequential stints in Boston, Toronto, Denver, Orlando and Minnesota.  Finally settling down with the Detroit Pistons in 2002, Billups found a home.  But he never doubted himself.  ?I never lost my confidence,? he said of those first four seasons. ?I always felt I would be a good player in this league.?

Besides being a key to the Pistons? championship in 2004, Billups has provided the multi-dimensional team with on-the-court leadership.  In Sunday?s game against the Clippers in Los Angeles ? a battle of two of the teams with among the top records in the league ? Billups scored a game-high 25 points, 12 on three-point goals, and added eight assists. ?It?s a different experience for me now,? he said.  ?It?s my show.  I have the approval of my teammates.?

His new coach in Detroit ? who also coached him two seasons in Minnesota ? concurs about his point guard, who has averaged over 16 points-per-game since joining the team.  ?Chauncey is an elite point guard,? said Flip Saunders, who took over the Pistons? coaching job from Larry Brown this season.  ?He?s able to make shots and distribute the ball.  He?s like a quarterback ? like Peyton Manning.  He?s able to read who?s hot and control the tempo and flow of a game.  He has total command.?

Billups started playing basketball in his home town of Denver when he was 9 in 1985.  ?I dreamt about this back then,? he said.  ?This has always been my dream.?  His game has always been a mixture of assists and points as he has accumulated over 400 assists in a season three times in his career.  But he has obviously taken his game to another level during the past two years on the Pistons.  ?I?ve experienced a lot of battles ? seen it all,? he reflected.  ?This team is nothing new.  But I?m older ? I?ve learned.?

As for his coach?s comment that Billups has become an elite player in the league, Billups was both pleased and encouraged.  ?It feels good,? he said.  ?I have a lot of confidence.  I feel like I?m there.?