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Report: Pistons to retire Billups, Wallace's jerseys this season

Lucy Nicholson / REUTERS

The Detroit Pistons will honor Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace for their vital contributions to the franchise's 2004 NBA championship by retiring their numbers at some point this season, the Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis reported Thursday.

Ellis added that exact dates for the ceremonies have yet to be confirmed.

Billups, 39, was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1997 and spent time with five teams in his first five years before finding a home in Detroit. Under then-head coach Larry Brown, Billups evolved into "Mr. Big Shot" and helped the Pistons earn their third NBA title in franchise history.

The 2004 Finals MVP was traded to the Denver Nuggets early in 2008, a move that correlated with the decline of the Pistons' Eastern Conference dominance. Billups returned to Detroit for the final season of his career in 2013-14.

Wallace, 41, played nine season in the Motor City. After going undrafted out of Division II Virginia Union, "Big Ben" established himself as a dominant defensive presence in Detroit, where protected the paint as the anchor of the famously stingy Pistons defense. He earned four Defensive Player of the Year awards as a Piston, and also lead the league in rebounds twice, and blocks once.

Wallace left the Pistons as a free agent in 2006, but returned to the team three years later. He retired at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Both soon-to-be retired numbers are worn by current members of the Pistons. Reggie Jackson wears Billups' No. 1, while rookie Stanley Johnson sports Wallace's No. 3.

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