TITLE: Blazers Reeling After Coach Chauncey Billups Arrested on Federal Gambling Charges
SLUG: blazers-chauncey-billups-arrest-gambling-investigation
CONTENT:
Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups is free on bail after an Oct. 24 pre-dawn FBI raid placed him at the center of two federal investigations—one alleging rigged high-stakes poker games tied to the Gambino crime family, the other accusing him of leaking nonpublic NBA information to high-volume sports bettors.
Early-morning raid stuns Portland roster
Most Blazers players had their phones off following an Oct. 23 season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. When veteran guard Jrue Holiday checked his messages the next morning, he learned his coach had been taken into custody. “Honestly, we were shocked,” Holiday told reporters.
Billups, 49, was arraigned in Brooklyn federal court the same afternoon and released on bond. The team placed him on indefinite leave and elevated assistant Tiago Splitter, 40, to interim head coach.
Indictments outline two separate schemes
- Poker investigation: Prosecutors say Billups knowingly joined a “cheating team” that fixed private poker games beginning in 2020. Texts cited in a 22-page indictment describe ringleaders Sophia “Pookie” Wei, 40, and Robert Stroud, 67, discussing plans for Billups and co-conspirator Eric “Spook” Earnest, 53, to lose hands intentionally to avoid suspicion. Investigators tracked a $50,000 payment to Billups after an Oct. 2020 game.
- Sports-betting probe: A separate 23-page filing alleges Billups supplied Earnest with inside information on player availability before a March 24, 2023 game between Portland and the Chicago Bulls. Bettors allegedly moved $100,000 on Chicago as Portland scratched Damian Lillard and four other starters 30 minutes before tipoff; the Bulls won 124-96.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the combined cases “the insider-trading saga for the NBA.”
Locker-room fallout and league response
General manager Joe Cronin and Splitter briefed the roster on Oct. 24, instructing players not to contact Billups. Holiday and teammate Damian Lillard—back in Portland after a summer sign-and-trade with Boston—urged younger players to “stay together.”
The NBA circulated a league-wide memo Oct. 27 warning of “dire risks” tied to gambling activity. Commissioner Adam Silver told Amazon’s Cassidy Hubbarth he was “deeply disturbed,” adding that competitive integrity is “the league’s top priority.”
Support mixed with disbelief
Billups’ longtime confidants are struggling to reconcile the allegations with his reputation. LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, a friend since their AAU days, said, “I believe in Chauncey’s character.” Former Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown added, “He would be one of the last people I’d expect to be involved with bad people.”
An unnamed associate quoted by ESPN said, “I didn’t even know he was a gambler.” Others voiced concern about Billups’ alleged ties to organized crime figures.
Legal outlook
Defense attorney Chris Heywood said Billups “is a man of integrity” and will fight the charges. The next court appearance is set for Nov. 24 in Brooklyn.
Season continues under Splitter
Splitter, hired last spring to modernize Portland’s offense, earned a 139-119 win over Golden State on Oct. 25 in his head-coaching debut. Players doused him with ice water in the locker room—an attempt to salvage normalcy amid uncertainty.
Portland had extended Billups in April after four rebuilding seasons produced 117 wins. The franchise now moves forward with a roster headlined by Holiday, Lillard (out this year with a torn Achilles), Deni Avdija, Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara and rookie center Donovan Clingan—while its former coach prepares to defend himself against federal charges that could end a celebrated career.
Source: ESPN.com
