Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier arrested in unrelated gambling cases
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Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were taken into custody on Thursday in two separate investigations tied to illegal gambling, according to ESPN reporter Shams Charania.
Rozier, 31, was arrested early Thursday at a hotel in Orlando, Florida. The Heat had dropped their season opener to the Orlando Magic the previous night, a game in which Rozier did not appear because of a coach’s decision.
Billups, 49, was detained in Oregon in connection with a different gambling probe that authorities say involves an illegal Mafia-linked poker ring, ABC News reported. He is scheduled for an initial court appearance later in the day. Billups has coached Portland since 2021 and was on the bench for Wednesday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The former Detroit Pistons guard won the 2004 NBA championship, earned Finals MVP honors and entered the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones, 49, was also arrested Thursday. Prosecutors allege he supplied inside information about NBA games to co-defendants who used it to place sports bets.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and FBI Director Kash Patel plan a 10 a.m. ET news conference Thursday to outline the charges.
Suspicious bets on Rozier in 2023
Sportsbooks in several states flagged unusual wagering on Rozier’s statistics before a Charlotte Hornets–New Orleans Pelicans matchup on March 23, 2023. Within 46 minutes, a professional bettor placed 30 wagers totaling $13,759 on the under for Rozier’s points, rebounds and assists, prompting books to suspend betting. Rozier exited that contest after 10 minutes with a reported foot injury, his final game of the 2022-23 season. He later met multiple times with NBA and FBI investigators. The league said it found no rule violations at that time.
Rozier is in the last year of a four-year, $96.3 million contract signed with Charlotte in August 2021. The Hornets traded him to Miami in January 2024.
Connection to Jontay Porter case
Rozier’s situation stems from the betting scandal involving former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, who was banned from the NBA in spring 2024 after admitting to manipulating his performance for player-prop wagers. Porter and three others have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges; two additional men are in plea talks. Porter is awaiting sentencing in December.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver, speaking Tuesday on “The Pat McAfee Show,” said the league has asked some sportsbook partners to limit certain prop bets to reduce the risk of manipulation by players with minimal playing time.
Source: ESPN
