Federal charges against multiple former and current NBA players rocked the sports and gambling world Thursday. Here are five key takeaways from the Justice Department's press conference announcing the indictments.
Billups not charged in sports gambling probe
Former NBA champion and current Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was not indicted in an alleged six-person plot to manipulate games. He was arrested in a parallel case involving New York organized crime syndicates as well as fellow retired NBA player Damon Jones.
Jones, currently an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was charged in both cases.
According to the indictment, Chauncey Billups was allegedly used as a "face card" to attract other wealthy gamblers to these allegedly rigged poker games. pic.twitter.com/4xUvZx948X
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) October 23, 2025
This nature of the two cases raised flags that a current NBA head coach was rigging games in what would have been an even more massively damning condemnation on sports and regulated betting. And the possibility still exists. Still, an active coach allegedly involved in organized criminal gambling - and an assistant coach reportedly tied to illicit sports betting - could have far-reaching consequences beyond just the two individuals charged.
Rozier charged
Current NBA player Terry Rozier was among those charged by federal prosecutors, a repudiation of the league’s earlier investigation that found the former All-Star was not involved in illegal gambling. This raises questions about how the NBA could have missed a marquee player manipulating his own games.
Rozier was investigated last NBA season for his reported involvement in an illicit plan to leave games early to assure his individual stats such as points, rebounds, and assists went under their betting totals. The league cleared Rozier before the 2025-2026 campaign, and he started the season with the Miami Heat.
FBI Director Patel: "Individuals such as Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones and Terry Rozier were taking into custody today, former,current NBA players and coaches...this is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years." pic.twitter.com/L5vLj1XtvM
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 23, 2025
Law enforcement officials at Thursday’s press conference said Rozier had been part of a group that had worked to manipulate games between December 2022 and March 2024. Investigators cited an incident before a game on March 23, 2023, when Rozier, then a member of the Charlotte Hornets, told accomplices he would leave the night’s contest early with a supposed injury.
Rozier played only nine minutes, and his alleged co-conspirators wagered more than $200,000 on his individual player prop "unders." Officials said Rozier’s portion of the winnings were delivered to his home in cash.
Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Thursday the NBA had cooperated in the investigation. Questions remain how the NBA missed what the Justice Department presented as “smoking gun” evidence of Rozier’s role in betting against himself.
An extension of the Jontay Porter case
Former NBA role player Jontay Porter was the first athlete in a major pro sports league to be banned for life for gambling on his own games since the widespread legalization of sports gambling in 2018. Though he didn’t face additional charges Thursday, Porter was involved in the crimes tied to the six new charges, Nocella said at the press conference.
Nocella said the defendants “perpetrated a scheme to defraud” by betting on nonpublic information about NBA athletes and teams. That included when certain players would sit out future games or pull themselves for purported injuries or illnesses.
The FBI announced today that former Raptors player Jontay Porter was threatened to participate in an illegal gambling scheme that also involved current and former NBA players and coaches Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones.
— Covers (@Covers) October 23, 2025
This illegal gambling operation spanned… pic.twitter.com/M7YKUih2n8
“They relied on corrupt individuals, including Jones and Rozier,” Nocella said. Nocella added that in at least one instance, the syndicate gathered information through threats to Porter involving his pre-existing gambling debts.
Porter pled guilty to manipulating his performance in two NBA games by leaving early with fake injuries. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December and could face multiple years in prison.
Regulated sportsbooks were ‘victims’
Though the defendants allegedly placed some of their illegal bets with mobile sportsbooks, the books were “victims in this case,” Nocella said.
Major U.S. legal sportsbooks work with third-party integrity monitoring services and have helped alert law enforcement to previous betting scandals, including Porter’s. Nocella said the sportsbooks involved in this investigation would be disclosed publicly.
U.S. Attorney says that sportsbooks are “victims” in the case pic.twitter.com/Ump8NL0nvd
— Anthony Puccio (@APOOCH) October 23, 2025
FBI director Kash Patel said at Thursday’s press conference this operation would not impact gamblers with regulated sportsbooks.
“If you're participating in the legal gambling industry, you got nothing to worry about,” Patel said. “If you're participating in illegal conduct, you've got everything to worry about, and this case shows it.”
Despite the distinction, and the benefit legal books can bring to identifying illegal gambling, another high-profile sports gambling scandal - this one involving a former All-Star player and current assistant coach - will undoubtedly bring more scrutiny on the industry.
Regulated sportsbooks are one of the best tools against illegal sports gambling, which has existed since sports began. But to the majority that don't work in this industry, sportsbooks do the opposite - and there comes a point where enough scandals make them demand action.
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) October 23, 2025
College basketball not involved
Nocella said the charges filed Thursday have nothing to do with separate investigations into multiple men’s college basketball programs.
