NBA coach, player arrested in illegal gambling probes

NEW YORK: NBA head coach Chauncey Billups of the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested on Thursday for alleged involvement in illegal gambling on a “mind-boggling” scale, US officials said.
Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and a member of the National Basketball Association Hall of Fame, was arrested in connection with rigged illegal poker games tied to Mafia crime families, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Rozier and a former NBA player and assistant coach, Damon Jones, were among six people arrested in a sports betting case, Patel said at a press conference in New York.
“The fraud is mind boggling,” Patel said. “It’s not hundreds of dollars, it’s not 1000s of dollars, it’s not 10s of 1000s of dollars. It’s not even millions of dollars.
“We’re talking about 10s of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery across a multi-year investigation.”

30+ arrests. 11 states. 1 nationwide takedown.

Today the FBI dismantled a multi-million dollar gambling ring tied to La Cosa Nostra, including current & former NBA players and coaches — as well as an inside scheme to rig sports betting outcomes for profit.

Cheating,… pic.twitter.com/dxzDO26NFJ

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 23, 2025

Billups and Rozier were placed on “immediate leave” following their arrests, the NBA said in a brief statement, adding that it was reviewing the indictments and cooperating with authorities.
US Attorney Joseph Nocella said the 49-year-old Billups was one of more than 30 people indicted for alleged involvement in a “nationwide scheme to rig illegal poker games” that used “high-tech cheating technology.”
Rozier and Jones allegedly “participated in one of the most brazen sports