National Basketball Association

Will Pistons retire Billups' No. 1?

Published Jul. 23, 2014 10:50 a.m. ET

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A decade after the 2004 NBA title, the Detroit Pistons should strongly consider retiring another jersey number.

Andre Drummond announced Tuesday on Twitter that -- despite Chauncey Billups leaving the Pistons after one injury-wrecked season -- he's going to continue wearing No. 0. Drummond wore No. 1 at the beginning of his NBA career, but gave it up when Billups returned to the franchise.

Drummond's decision gives the Pistons a chance to retire the No. 1 jersey, which Billups wore as the MVP of the 2004 Finals. He played 465 games for Detroit between 2003-2008, leading the team to six straight Eastern Conference finals and within one game of a second championship in 2005.

The Pistons declined to pick up their option on Billups for the 2014-15 season, and he's widely expected to retire.

"There's no way I will come back unless I could get my knee back to 100 percent because I don't want to go through another year like this," Billups said late in the season. "I don't want to be here if I can't help the team. I still want to play, but there's a reason that Father Time is still undefeated, and I've had a great run."

The Pistons could actually honor the two best players from the 2004 championship team because Rodney Stuckey's departure for Indiana leaves Ben Wallace's No. 3 available for retirement.

Wallace wore No. 3 in his first stint with Detroit, which included four Defensive Player of the Year Awards and four All-Star selections. He switched to No. 6 when he returned to the Pistons for his final three seasons.

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