Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been nominated for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

On Thursday, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced the list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2024, highlighted by first-time nominees Vince Carter, Bill Laimbeer, and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team “Redeem Team.”

Among that list, current Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, who had a storied 17-year career that included six All-Star appearances and winning Finals MVP in 2004 when he led the Detroit Pistons to an NBA Finals victory.

On Thursday, Billups spoke about the nomination, “That’s the holy grail. That’s it right there. Being mentioned in that class is incredible for me.”

The Blazers coach said that while he thought big, the Hall of Fame wasn't something that he dared consider, “I dreamed about a lot of things in my life and in my career, but I didn’t dream that big.”

Billups has preached about connectedness and playing winning basketball while coaching the Blazers. He had a similar mindset as a player:

“For me, I just played to win and tried to be the best teammate that I could. I never played for stats and things like that…I never played for those things. I just played to try and win and make players better. For me to be mentioned as a possibility, knowing what I was all about as a player, is incredible.”

Billups averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game in his career with the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers.

Finalists for the Naismith Hall of Fame will be announced Feb. 16 during NBA All-Star weekend. The Class of 2024 will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four on April 6.