An ongoing debate concerning the greatest NBA teams of all time received a fresh twist thanks to some intriguing insights from Chauncey Billups. Being a key figure in the 2004 Detroit Piston’s Championship run, Billups’ opinion holds some weight. While reflecting on his illustrious career during an appearance on a podcast, the 47-year-old was asked if Stephen Curry‘s Warriors, without the formidable Kevin Durant, could truly match up against his gritty and defensively dominant Pistons squad. Let’s see what Billups had to say.

On the podcast, Billups asserted that the Golden State Warriors would not have stood a chance against the Pistons’ without Kevin Durant. “I think we would have a tough time with the KD team. Whenever KD was there, it would have been a tough one with them.” The Trail Blazers’ head coach acknowledged. “But the other teams? We would’ve boned them,” Billups remarked, highlighting his view that the Warriors before and after KD would have struggled to overcome the Pistons’ relentless defense and aggressive playing stance in 2004. 

The Warriors, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, were already a great team. The addition of Durant in the 2016-2017 season transformed a great team into an unstoppable force. Durant’s ability to score in various ways and adapt to different situations gave the Warriors an advantage that the Pistons would have found difficult to deal with. “I love them all. I’m a big fan of them, so I ain’t like that. But nah, the pre-KD title team and post-KD team? We would’ve washed them. I love all of them, but the KD one would be tough,” said Chauncey Billups during the podcast.

The 2004 Pistons were known for their defensive prowess, featuring Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. Their victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals remains one of the most celebrated events in NBA history.

As the debate about the all-time greatest NBA teams intensifies, let’s take a look at the two prominent figures from the 2004 Pistons and 2017 Warriors squads who actually started the debate.

Chauncey Billups weighs in on the debate that was started by two legends

The debate started when Rasheed Wallace, while answering a question on his YouTube channel Sheed & Tylor, said, “We would’ve beat the sh*t out of [the 2017 Warriors] because for the simple fact that they couldn’t match with us at any position…Steph [Curry] is not a defender and Draymond [Green] is too little.”

Green shot back saying that the 2017 Warriors would have effortlessly defeated the 2004 Pistons. “We would have smacked you all. You all were scoring 72 points per game. That’s not winning a half,” the Warriors forward wrote on X. Wallace took a stance and defended his team’s legacy, highlighting the 2004 Pistons’ offensive and defensive strength, but he also stressed that he had nothing personal against Green.

“First and foremost, this isn’t a beef, Draymond is my lil bro who I am proud of so no matter what we say it will never be personal. Don’t matter the rules yours or ours … y’all as a team were too little… you can ask more than half ya teammates on that roster… no way y’all could mess with us in our prime,” the 49-year-old wrote, quoting Green’s post on X.

The debate on whether the 2017 Warriors could defeat the 2004 Pistons reignites with compelling insights from players and analysts. With Chauncey Billups weighing in now and stressing that the Warriors, without Kevin Durant, would struggle against the Pistons. it has spiced up even more. What’s your take? Let us know in the comments.

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