The National Basketball Association (NBA) has been thrust into a profound crisis of integrity following the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier on federal charges related to two massive, separate illegal gambling and organized crime schemes.
The arrests, part of a coordinated nationwide “takedown” that saw over 30 individuals charged across multiple states, expose deep-seated vulnerabilities at the intersection of professional sports and the expanding legal betting industry. Both men have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA, which has vowed to cooperate with authorities.
Two Schemes, One Crisis
Federal prosecutors announced two sweeping criminal cases, both allegedly backed by organized crime families. The two NBA figures are implicated in distinct operations, illustrating the breadth of the criminal activity.
Chauncey Billups, a celebrated Hall of Famer and NBA champion, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a rigged, high-stakes poker scheme.
The indictment alleges that Billups was one of the “Face Cards”—prominent figures used to lure unsuspecting victims to games in locations like Las Vegas and New York. These games were allegedly manipulated using sophisticated technology, including rigged shuffling machines and X-ray tables, to ensure profits for the criminal enterprise.
The indictment encompasses 31 defendants, including Billups, who allegedly “participated in a nationwide scheme” to rig the games using “high-tech cheating technology to steal millions of dollars from victims in underground poker games that were secretly fixed,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said.
High tech gambling ring exposed
That technology included poker chip tray analyzers and tampered shuffling machines that could send information about players’ hands to an off-site operator, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said.
Prosecutors claim the poker ring defrauded victims of millions of dollars, with Billups allegedly involved in defrauding victims of at least $50,000.
Terry Rozier’s arrest, meanwhile, is tied to a distinct, but equally serious, sports betting operation dubbed “Nothing but Bet.” Authorities allege that Rozier, along with others, was a key figure in a scheme to exploit confidential, nonpublic information about NBA players, teams, and injuries to profit from fraudulent prop bets.
In one instance, the indictment points to a March 2023 game where Rozier, then with the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly left a game early citing a “supposed injury,” allowing co-conspirators to successfully place bets on him to underperform.
The scheme, described by officials as “the insider trading saga for the NBA,” focused on using this protected information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers. Rozier is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The Fallout and Future of the Game
The timing of the arrests, coming immediately after the NBA season opened, has sent a shockwave through the league and its financial partners in the legal sports betting world. The charges, which carry maximum sentences of up to 20 years, are compounded by the involvement of organized crime groups, raising questions about the extent of their penetration into professional sports.
While Rozier’s attorney maintains his client is “not a gambler” and looks forward to fighting the charges, the details of both indictments point to a pervasive and lucrative criminal network.
This scandal echoes the lifetime ban handed down to former Raptors player Jontay Porter just last year for similar betting-related offenses, underscoring a growing crisis of integrity.
The NBA’s commitment to cooperation with the federal probe signals a zero-tolerance approach, suggesting that the consequences for those found guilty could be career-ending. The integrity of the sport—the very foundation of the multi-billion-dollar enterprise—is now under the most intense scrutiny in years.
In a statement, the NBA said that Rozier and Billups “are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.”
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
Damon Jones also caught up in gambling ring
The FBI has also confirmed the arrest of former NBA player Damon Jones in Las Vegas as part of an ongoing investigation.
According to the indictment, obtained by the New York Times, Jones, who was a friend of LeBron James, sold or tried to profit off non-public information so others could bet on it. Cited in the FBI investigation into the gambling ring, was a February 9, 2023 Lakers-Bucks game that LeBron missed after being ruled out due to ankle soreness.
Before the February 9, 2023 Lakers game, Jones allegedly texted an unnamed co-conspirator that a player would miss the game, and they should bet on the Bucks instead. That player had not been listed on the injury report yet. LeBron would miss the next two Lakers games before returning for the team’s final game before the All-Star break.