So far, it's been a great year for the Denver Nuggets, and one oft-cited reason is the older-brother style leadership of Chauncey Billups, who was honored yesterday for his straightforward play with the National Basketball Association's sportsmanship award, which included a donation in his name to the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy at Regis University. "It's been a dream, the things that have happened to me this year," Billups tells The Denver Post. Billups, a Denver native who played for the University of Colorado, was traded to the Nuggets in November via the Detroit Pistons. The Nuggets have the chance to knock New Orleans out of the playoffs in Game 5 tonight at the Pepsi Center.