DENVER -- When Chauncey Billups was traded to Denver in November, there was no big speech or rah-rah spiel proclaiming the Denver native as the franchise's savior.
But somewhere between that opening news conference, a few practices, and a few games afterward, it was obvious to all that Billups was exactly what the Nuggets needed, right now. He brings all-star talent to the floor and is only four years removed from being an NBA Finals MVP. But maybe most significant, he provides the kind of leadership that has catapulted the Nuggets to the top of the Northwest Division standings.
"A natural leader, you do it the right way, every day," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "And you have a no-nonsense kind of role with people who don't do it that way. That's what Chauncey has brought to us.
"The leaders who try to talk their way and not show the way with their actions and attitude will fail."
In his six-plus seasons with Detroit , the Pistons won an NBA title in 2004, returned to the Finals the following season and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals every year since.
Denver lost three of its first four games before the Nov. 3 trade for Billups. Since then, the Nuggets are 24-9, and at 25-12 have the second-best record in the Western Conference. Billups is the first to acknowledge the Nuggets' success has come quicker than he thought.
"I was a little surprised, but of course, happy about it," Billups said. "I thought it would take a little more time to jell, for guys to get to know me, and me to get to know all their personalities on the court and off the court. It took off kind of fast."
The same can't be said for his former Pistons team and the man who replaced him, Allen Iverson.
Detroit hovered near the .500 mark until a season-best seven-game winning streak that came to a halt in Wednesday's 84-83 loss at Portland. Billups said he wasn't surprised that it took some time for the Pistons and Iverson to play well together.
"He's totally different from the leadership they had with me, as far as me having the ball, knowing everybody's game inside and out," Billups said.
For Billups, winning is what he wants Detroit fans to remember him for as a player.
"Somebody that came out there and gave everything he had, for the right reasons," Billups said. "I never played games to get my stats up, or anything like that. I always played to win. I do that now. I did that then."
