Watch 2010 NBA All-Star on February 11-14, 2010 at Dallas.
Piper Billups will have to share her husband next week.
While walking out of the Pepsi Center after Wednesday morning's shootaround, Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups joked his wife wouldn't mind if he wasn't chosen as an All-Star injury replacement because his family has scheduled a vacation All-Star Weekend to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
"I think she'd rather have me all to herself than have to share me with everybody,'' Billups said.
Let the sharing begin. Billups was named later in the day by NBA commissioner David Stern to replace the injured Chris Paul for the West in the Feb. 14 All-Star Game in Dallas.
It will be the fifth straight All-Star appearance for Billups. He'll be on the bubble to make the Hall of Fame one day, so every one counts.
"It's crazy, man,'' said Billups, who was considered by some a bust early in his 13-year career and didn't make his first All-Star Game until his ninth season. "It's kind of humbling to be honest. It's kind of surreal to see how my career started. Everybody pretty much wrote me off and thought I would be out of the league, and I've come back and was able to make five straight All-Star Games. It's crazy. I don't really have the words. It's crazy, though.''
Billups had been the leading candidate to be named since it became known Sunday that Paul, a New Orleans guard, would be lost for what is believed to be at least a month due to knee surgery.
"I thought he was leader in the clubhouse, and I'm glad the league verified that,'' said Nuggets coach George Karl. "Signed the card. I'm happy for him. I think it's the right decision and the right move from the standpoint how Chauncey has played the last six weeks. I think it's also a celebration of the team having the second-best record in the (West).''
Earlier in the day, Karl had called it a "no-brainer'' Stern would select Billups.
"Chauncey Billups should, I think, feel like Obama in an presidential election,'' Karl had said. "It's, to me, a fairly lopsided vote... There are some great guards out there and, yes, (Golden State's) Monta Ellis has had a special season. I actually think (Dallas') Jason Kidd has had a special season. I think the Aaron Brooks kid (in Houston) has played great. But (Billups recently) has played better than the guys actually on the All-Star team in my mind.''
Billups, whose 19.2 scoring average through Wednesday is in line to be a career best and is averaging 6.1 assists, had said after Monday's 112-109 win over Sacramento he couldn't lose because he would be going either to the All-Star Game or on a Mexican vacation.
Follow NBA FanHouse "(Piper Billups) knows we'll get to that in the summer time sometime,'' Billups said. "She really wanted to go to Cabo but, at the same time, she's excited that I got recognized as being an All-Star as well.''
Billups will be joined in Dallas by Denver forward Carmelo Anthony, named a starter in fan voting. In Wednesday's 109-97 loss to Phoenix, Anthony missed his sixth straight game due to a sprained left ankle. He might not be back for Denver games Friday at the Los Angeles Lakers and Saturday at Utah, which might not mean he returns until Tuesday's home game against Dallas.
"(Wednesday) morning it was still sore and tender in an area,'' Karl said of the injury Anthony suffered Jan. 23. "When we saw the injury, we thought it was tough. Melo is so good with injuries that we probably got optimistically ahead of the truth, and we just have to be careful with it.''
Meanwhile, Billups was able to play against the Suns despite a sprained left ankle suffered Monday. And he had to cancel those vacation plans. His wife will have to share him All-Star Weekend.
From NBA Fanhouse
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