TITLE: Chauncey Billups Arrested in Federal Illegal Gambling Probe
SLUG: chauncey-billups-illegal-gambling-arrest
CONTENT:
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was taken into custody early Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in connection with a federal investigation into illegal gambling, authorities said.
According to NBC News reporters Tom Winter and Jonathan Dienst, Billups was arrested in Oregon and is scheduled to appear before a federal judge later today. ABC News journalist Aaron Katersky later reported that the charge stems from Billups’s alleged role in an illegal poker ring linked to organized crime. Investigators indicated the case is separate from, but connected to, the ongoing probe that led to guard Terry Rozier’s arrest the same morning.
Sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News the allegations do not involve bets placed on Trail Blazers games or any contests coached by Billups.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. of the Eastern District of New York will outline the latest developments at a news conference scheduled for 10:00 a.m. ET, alongside representatives from the FBI, Homeland Security, and the New York City Police Department.
Billups was on the sideline for Portland’s season opener Wednesday night, fewer than 12 hours before his arrest. An assistant—most likely Nate Bjorkgren, who filled in last winter during Billups’s family leave—is expected to run the team when the Blazers face the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
The 48-year-old Hall of Famer has led Portland’s bench since June 2021 and signed a contract extension in the spring that keeps him under contract through 2028.
Along with Billups and Rozier, former Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley has also been under federal scrutiny for alleged gambling violations. Investigative reporter Pablo Torre noted that Beasley’s status could be clarified at today’s press briefing; the NBA previously cleared Beasley after determining he had placed a small number of bets on another sport.
Source: Hoops Rumors
