Gone Gambling

Current NBA Player and Coach Caught by the FBI for Gambling Scandal

Photo by Aidan Howe on Unsplash

During the early hours of Thursday, Oct. 23, big news broke in the sports world. Current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were arrested by the FBI. They were both arrested on charges linking each of them to an illegal gambling ring. However, Rozier and Billups are part of separate investigations. After this news broke, the NBA announced that both Rozier and Billups were placed on administrative leave without pay while the investigations take place.

Terry Rozier is in his 11th season of playing in the NBA. He had formerly played for the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets before being traded to Miami in 2024. The trade that moved Rozier was expected, as the Hornets were struggling and Rozier had signed a four-year, $96 million contract two seasons prior. However, issues with Rozier’s off-court profile started to appear after the 2024–25 NBA season. The investigation was launched because there was an unusual betting pattern involving Rozier on March 23, 2023, when he was with the Hornets. At that point, Rozier had not been charged with any crimes, since there was no evidence of wrongdoing. The investigation started because Rozier had an unusually poor night and ended up leaving the game with an injury. On that same night, multiple bets were placed on the under for Rozier’s performance, meaning many bettors who placed the under on Rozier’s performance won. Though this issue was slowly fading, it was brought back up again in January when it was found that 30 bets were placed in 46 minutes just before Rozier’s performance on the night of his subpar game. These bets combined for a total of $13,759 and were all on Rozier’s under for that night. Since Rozier left the game injured, each of those 30 bets hit. All of this evidence eventually led to the FBI arresting Rozier on Oct. 23 at a hotel in Orlando, Fla. He is accused of participating in an illegal sports betting scheme utilizing insider NBA information.

Chauncey Billups was a 17-year NBA player before coaching for the Trail Blazers. He is now in his fifth season as head coach. As a player, Billups never had any issues with gambling or criminal charges. Billups is in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player and won his lone NBA championship in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons. His involvement is much different than Rozier’s. Billups is accused of being involved in a wide-ranging poker scheme allegedly backed by the mafia. It is said that Billups and others used their celebrity status to lure people into the poker games, which were rigged by the mafia. Reports also state that there was sophisticated cheating technology used to help them win. Though Billups’ name is not fully involved in the sports betting investigation, there are reports that may link him to a 2023 game in Portland. These reports say that on March 24, 2023, the day after Rozier’s game, the Trail Blazers were going to purposely lose. This may be true considering Portland benched four of their five usual starters. Both Rozier and Billups faced judges the day of being arrested and were released from custody on certain conditions.

During the investigations, each of the men’s lawyers have stated that their clients are innocent and have never been involved in these schemes. Billups will face a judge again on Nov. 24, and Rozier on Dec. 8. The legal process will keep both men out of the NBA this season, but both still look to make a return to the league in the future.