NBA commissioner Adam Silver 'deeply disturbed' by indictments - ESPN

NEW YORK — In his first public comments since Thursday's federal indictments were announced involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he was «deeply disturbed» by the allegations that were presented by federal authorities.

«My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,» Silver said in an interview with Amazon at the start of the second quarter of the game between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. «There's nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition.

»And so I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting."

Silver also explained the sequence of events that led to the NBA investigating «aberrational behavior» around a game on March 23, 2023 — one of several in the indictment — involving Rozier while he was playing for the Charlotte Hornets in New Orleans against the Pelicans.

Rozier was investigated by the NBA, and the league said at the time it «did not find a violation of NBA rules» and he continued playing for the Miami Heat.

«So what happened was, because bets were placed through legalized legal betting companies, they picked up aberrational behavior around a particular game in March of 2023,» Silver said. «And so it was brought to our attention by the regulators and the betting companies. We then looked into that situation and were very transparent about it. And while there was that aberrational betting, we, frankly, couldn't find anything.»

Silver went on to say that Rozier cooperated with league officials at the time, including sitting for an interview with them and surrendering his phone, before «we ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence,