NBA player investigated for allegedly manipulating his playing performance to aid illegal gambling scheme

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Miami Heat player Terry Rozier is currently under investigation by federal prosecutors over suspicions of an illegal betting scheme, the NBA confirmed Thursday. 

The investigators are working to determine whether Rozier manipulated his performance in two games in March 2023, allegedly in conspiracy with Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter.

It is part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Porter in July. 

Porter’s ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and "prop bets" – wagers where bettors can choose whether a player will reach a certain statistical standard or not during a game. Last April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose.

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Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors warms up before the game against the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on March 9, 2024, in Portland, Oregon. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The Porter investigation started once the league learned from "licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets" about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter’s performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. 

The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior to that game and said another individual – known to be an NBA bettor – placed an $80,000 bet that