Just two days into the NBA season, federal authorities arrested three prominent figures in a sweeping gambling investigation: Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones, a former player and longtime confidant of LeBron James. Prosecutors say the case involves alleged ties to four notorious New York mafia families.
Billups, 49, Hall of Fame inductee, is accused of orchestrating a multi-year poker fraud scheme, including a 2019 game that netted at least $50,000 from victims. Rozier, 31, is charged with deliberately exiting a 2023 Hornets game to let co-conspirators profit on bets. Jones, 49, is accused of providing gamblers with insider information on NBA players’ injuries and playing time, including tipping off a co-conspirator that LeBron James would miss a 2023 Lakers game.
The indictments involve 34 defendants in total, 13 with alleged organized crime links. FBI Director Kash Patel called it “an insider trading saga for the NBA,” while U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. labeled it “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized.”
Billups and Jones are also implicated in a hi-tech, mob-run poker ring—dubbed “Operation Royal Flush”—using advanced cheating technology across Miami, Las Vegas, the Hamptons, and New York.
The NBA has placed Rozier and Billups on leave and pledged full cooperation with authorities. Rozier was arrested in Orlando; Billups in Portland and released under restrictions, while Jones’ arraignment is expected in New York this week.
As the investigation unfolds, the scandal threatens to cast a shadow over the NBA season, exposing a side of professional basketball rarely seen by fans.
