The two guards who helped lead the Detroit Pistons to the 2004 championship – a shock win that seems unlikely to ever be repeated.
Billups was named Finals MVP and Hamilton was the top scorer as the unheralded Pistons beat Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone to win the title.
Detroit, whose defence-first team was rounded out by the dominant Ben Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace, were the last team to win a title without true superstar players.
The league has changed so much in the decade since that teams with two or three superstars struggle to even make the latter stages of the play-offs.
Both Billups and Hamilton – who were in London as ticket details for the January NBA game were announced – believe that the Golden State Warriors, winners of three of the last four Finals, will win the Larry O'Brien trophy again in the coming season.
In fact, the rich got richer with the Warriors – who already boasted Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green – added another superstar player in DeMarcus Cousins (albeit one coming off a serious injury).
Despite some fans' doom and gloom over Golden State's continued dominance at the top, Billups says he is "very excited" about this season.
This summer saw huge upheaval with LeBron James' blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kawhi Leonard's trade to Toronto Raptors just the biggest of dozens of huge moves.
Billups told SunSport from the London Eye: "Yeah, Golden State are favourites this season.
"But I'm excited. There are some teams that are going to be good.
Billups and Hamilton in numbers
Chauncey Billups
- 2004 NBA Champion
- 2004 Finals MVP
- 5x All-Star
- All-NBA second team (2006)
- 2x All-NBA third team (2007, 2009)
- 2x All-NBA defensive second team (2005, 2006)
- 15,802 career points
Rip Hamilton
- 2004 NBA Champion
- 3x All-Star
- No 32 retired by Detroit Pistons
- 15,708 career points
"The Lakers, LeBron is going to really propel them.
"I'm excited for Boston, for Toronto with Kawhi. I want to see if Philadelphia can take another step."
Hamilton adds: "Wherever LeBron goes he's a contender. Some people say 'he was in the East, the West will be tougher…' but he is LeBron James.
"Whenever he has the ball in his hand or puts his print on the game good things happen.
"Luke Walton is a great young coach, they added veteran guys with Championship pedigree, they understand how to win.
"You've got to put them into the mix also. It's wide open for teams after the Warriors."
Billups says that LeBron and the new-look Lakers may get off to a tough start in Hollywood – but things will soon sort themselves out.
"I think they may get off to a tough start just trying to get to know one another," he says, "but come playo-ff time, the Lakers are going to be a very, very tough team to beat."
Last year, the Warriors faced their toughest challenge in the Western Conference Finals, against the Houston Rockets.
James Harden and Chris Paul's team were two quarters away from reaching the Finals before a shocking second half collapse allowed Golden State to tie and then win the series.
This summer the Rockets made a big move bringing in Carmelo Anthony, a ten-time All-Star coming off the worst season of his career.
However, Houston lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute, two role players who were a key part of their defensive identity last season.
It is unclear if the moves made Houston better or worse, with the Rockets adding more firepower but seemingly taking away their ability to match up with the Warriors defensively.
Hamilton said: "Offensively they got better. Anytime you add Melo to the mix, he can really stretch the floor, he's great in pick and roll, a guy that can really takeover late in the game.
"I don't think in OKC they really played to his strengths at times.
"They wont be as good defensively, Ariza was a great defender, did all the little stuff that made Chris and James Harden great. The stuff that doesn't show up in the stat sheet.
"They lose a lot not having him."
Billups agrees: "I just don't know yet. They will really miss Trevor Ariza.
"He's one of the best glue guys the league has seen in a little while, he's a really good role player, plays defence, knocks down threes, doesn't require the ball.
"He can guard the other team's best player.
"Getting Carmelo, their offence will get better and more dangerous because he can hurt you in so many ways.
"But he's going to have to make a commitment on the defensive end, because they switch off pick and rolls."
Out of the Eastern Conference, both agree that the Boston Celtics will be the team to beat.
Brad Stevens' club made it all the way to the East Finals last season – despite missing arguably their two best players, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.
Hamilton says: "Last year what they were able to do without two of their best players, now having them back healthy, Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in the league – not just one of the best young coaches – he's one of the best.
"With their system, their style of play, I don't see anybody in the East beating them.
"Philly will compete. Toronto with Kawhi? We have to wait and see."
Billups is in total agreement with his former team-mate: "I think the Celtics being healthy are going to be really good.
"But I'm excited for Toronto, I think getting Kawhi, if healthy, makes them a better team. Their bench is good.
"There's a question mark over [new Raptors head coach] Nick Nurse, I want to see if he can pick up where Dwayne Casey left off. I'm excited to see if Philly can take it and move it forward."
Asked for a Finals prediction, Billups adds: "I'm gonna say the Warriors [to win]… man I really wish coach Casey was still with Toronto. I would've said them, but I've yet to see Nick Nurse.
"So I'm gonna have to go Warriors and Boston."
"That will be a dog fight," adds Hamilton. "I've been saying it for a couple of years, I think the team that matches best against the Warriors – even back when they had Isaiah Thomas – is the Celtics with their style of play.
"They have great young guards, guys that are interchangeable and can play multiple positions. I think they match up the best."
Last week, both players were nominated for entry to the NBA Hall of Fame, but ultimately snubbed as Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Ray Allen and Grant Hill were picked ahead of them.
It was just the most recent example of that great Pistons team of 2004 being overlooked – but both players are philosophical when asked about being passed over this time round.
Hamilton says: "The guys that made it should've made it, they've been great.
"From our team's standpoint, we've been underrated forever – even when we won it people were making excuses for the Lakers.
"We didn't play for individual accolades. We never played for that, we played for championships."
Billups says: "That's just our path and our journey.
"We're kind of used to it at this point.
"Obviously, congratulations to the other guys who made it, they deserve to make it, I 'm so happy for them.
"I think our day is coming one day, nonetheless.
"But we're champions, we will always be champions. We know we made a huge impact on the league.
"I don't think [a team like the 2004 Pistons] will happen again.
"I really do believe our team was special in the way we got it done, the way we cared for one another.
"It won't be duplicated for a long, long time. These days you have to have two or three super-superstars to even have a chance to make it to the Conference Finals.
"I don't think that'll happen."
- Tickets for the NBA London Game 2019 will go on general sale Friday, October 19 at 9am BST at www.axs.com/nbalondon. Fans can register their details at NBA.com/London to gain early access to a limited number of tickets via a pre-sale to be held on Wednesday, October 17 at 9am BST.
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