Portland Trail Blazers head coach and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested as part of an FBI investigation into illegal sports betting and poker activities. Former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also arrested as part of the same investigation, which has led to two indictments.
The Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Toronto Raptors were named in the sports betting investigation by U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York during a press conference. FBI Director Kash Patel described the 30-plus arrests across the NBA and organized crime as “historic.”
Making the Game Dirty
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“This is an illegal gambling operation and sports-rigging operation that spans the course of years,” said Patel, who added that the operation crossed 11 states. Billups, 49, faces charges for his alleged involvement in an illegal poker operation tied to organized crime.
Rozier has been indicted in the sports betting case, which involves the manipulation of prop bets — the same type of activity that led to Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA.
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Rozier, 31, had previously come under scrutiny for suspicious betting patterns during his stint with the Hornets, particularly in a March 2023 game, though the NBA ultimately found no wrongdoing at that time.
Jones, 49, is among three defendants facing charges in both investigations, according to Nocella.
Rozier and Billups are expected to appear in federal court on Thursday in the cities where they were arrested — Rozier in Orlando and Billups in Portland. Both are scheduled to be arraigned later in Brooklyn.
Rozier’s agent, Jim Trusty, spoke out against the arrest, calling it unfair to his client. “A long time ago we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication. They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel,” Trusty told The New York Post.
“It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case.”
Nocella explained that the first indictment involves six people accused of taking part in what he called “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became legal in the U.S.,” focusing specifically on the NBA.
The second indictment names 31 defendants accused of organizing and participating in rigged underground poker games, some of which reportedly involved former professional athletes.
Too Big a Racket
Rozier is among the six charged in the NBA-related case, facing counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. According to Nocella, the allegations stem from a March 23, 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans. In that matchup, Rozier played just over nine minutes before leaving with a reported foot injury — his last appearance of the season.
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During his brief time on the court, Rozier scored five points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists, and recorded a steal.
Around that same time, a social media post claimed someone had been tipped off that Rozier would leave the game early.
That information reportedly influenced prop bets — wagers on a player’s individual stats — leading to an unusual spike in bets on Rozier’s “Under.” ESPN reported that the surge was so large that some sportsbooks eventually stopped taking bets on his prop lines altogether.
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The NBA later investigated the matter but ultimately chose not to discipline Rozier.
“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said earlier this year.
“The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”
Rozier didn’t publicly address the issue at the time, but his agent, Jim Trusty, told ESPN earlier this year that the player had met multiple times with both NBA and FBI officials in 2023 as part of the investigation.
“On advice from counsel, I can’t answer any questions about that matter,” he said in January.
The former Louisville standout didn’t play in Miami’s 125–121 season-opening loss to the Magic on Wednesday, even though he was listed as available. According to ESPN, Rozier was taken into custody Thursday morning at a hotel in Orlando.
Rozier, who played for the Hornets from 2019 to 2024 before joining the Heat last season, is currently in the final year of a four-year, $96.3 million contract.
Billups, a former NBA star who played from 1997 to 2014, is now in his fifth season as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Nocella said Billups’ alleged involvement in the gambling case took place after his playing career ended but before he became Portland’s coach in 2021.
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He was arrested Thursday morning in Oregon, just a day after coaching the Blazers in their 118–114 season-opening loss to the Timberwolves. Billups has a 117–212 coaching record with the team.
During his playing days, Billups spent most of his career with the Detroit Pistons, also suiting up for the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Clippers, Celtics, Raptors, and Knicks. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year.
The alleged gambling ring he’s accused of being connected to reportedly defrauded victims out of tens of millions of dollars.
