Two days, that’s how long the NBA had to celebrate the return of its season before this thick, dark cloud came to a screeching halt above it. Two days, for the league to be awash in the glow of a thrilling double-overtime opener—in NBC’s return to NBA broadcasting, no less—and superlative-worthy performances from Victor Wembanyama, Luka Dončić and others. Two days, before the greatest threat to the league’s health, the integrity of its games, reemerged to tarnish it.
On Thursday, a group of federal, state and local officials gathered in New York to reveal details of sprawling, yearslong investigations into nationwide illegal gambling operations. The two target groups: six defendants, including Heat guard Terry Rozier, allegedly involved in what a prosecutor describes as “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes” and another 31 defendants, including Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, accused of rigging illegal poker games.
Said FBI director Kash Patel, “This is the insider trading saga for the NBA.”
Yeesh. It has been 18 months since the betting scandal involving Jontay Porter rocked the league. The NBA acted swiftly back then, banning Porter for life within weeks of reports surfacing of an internal investigation. The fallout from this scandal figures to last longer. And the blast radius could be a lot wider.
Details from the 23-page indictment are compelling. In 2023, Rozier, while with the Hornets, allegedly informed a co-defendant and childhood friend, Deniro Laster, of his plans to fake an injury during a game against the Pelicans. According to prosecutors, Laster shared the information with others who proceeded to place a series of wagers, some in the six figures, on the unders of Rozier’s betting lines. Rozier played fewer than 10 minutes. Everyone who bet his unders made money.
Billups, who prosecutors have zeroed in on for his connection to Mafia-run poker games, is allegedly ensnared in the gambling ring, too. The indictment refers to “Co-Conspirator 8,” an Oregon resident (where Billups lives) and an NBA player from 1997 to 2014 (the exact years Billups played) who has coached since 2021 (you get it). Before a March 24, 2023, game, Billups allegedly told a defendant, Eric Earnest, that the tanking Blazers would be sitting its stars. Earnest relayed that information to other defendants, who cashed in.
Billups and Rozier have both been placed on immediate leave, the NBA said.
Yet Jones’s presence in the indictment is surely causing the most concern in Olympic Tower. Jones’s NBA playing career ended in 2009. He spent several years as an assistant in Cleveland before moving on from coaching, too. But he was very popular during his playing days—Jones played for 10 NBA teams—with a large collection of high-profile friends. Including LeBron James.
In the indictment, Jones is identified as an unofficial assistant coach for the Lakers during the 2022–23 season. Also named is “Player 3,” a teammate of Jones (which James was) who would later coach him (ditto). On Jan. 9, 2023, Jones claimed in text messages to associates that Player 3 would sit out the game against Milwaukee. “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out,” Jones texted. James did not play that night. The Bucks won the game.
No one has suggested James knew anything about illegal bets, and it would be surprising if he did. But James is just one player in Jones’s extensive digital Rolodex; indeed, the indictment claims that Jones used his relationship with the Lakers and NBA personnel to access non-public information. Some within the league walls see the Rozier and Billups situations as containable, even viewing the indictments as a deterrent for years to come. Jones’s involvement, though, could cause the fallout to linger. And spread.
“DJ,” texted a high-ranking team exec, “is the NBA’s biggest liability right now.”
The NBA says it is cooperating with relevant authorities, and this investigation appears far from over. One by one officials stepped to the podium Thursday for a victory lap over the criminal elite. “Your winning streak is over,” declared interim U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. This is just the “tip of the iceberg,” said Christopher Rhea, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office. Charges filed include robbery, extortion, money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.
“What are the implications of this case for other sports leagues and for the legal gambling industry in general, simple,” Patel said. “If you’re participating in the legal gambling industry, you got nothing to worry about. If you’re participating in illegal conduct, you got everything to worry about.”
The NBA had hoped it had put these issues behind it, that Porter’s expulsion would scare would-be gamblers straight. Prop bets are the scourge of sports leagues, the kind of action pro-gambling league officials never envisioned becoming this kind of problem. For years Silver has worked to get prop bets removed from sportsbooks, with little success. First Porter, now Rozier and the NBA can only wonder who is next.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Damon Jones, Not Chauncey Billups, Is ‘NBA’s Biggest Liability’ in Gambling Scandal.