Former NBA Finals MVP and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, along with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, were arrested on Thursday as part of a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal gambling activities linked to organized crime.

Billups, a Hall of Famer and 2004 NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons, has been tied to poker-related gambling, while Rozier’s arrest stems from broader gambling concerns within the league.

Those concerns appear to be widespread, as a total of 31 individuals were arrested in the probe, including former NBA guard Damon Jones.

The FBI is set to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. ET to provide further details on the sprawling investigation, which, at least in the Billups case, ties into members of the La Cosa Nostra crime families.

The “Five Families” of La Cosa Nostra in New York City are the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families. This is a big-time scandal, folks.

NBA gambling arrests

Rozier was detained at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, shortly after the Heat’s season-opening loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. He sat out the game due to a coach’s decision.

Rozier’s arrest is connected to suspicious betting patterns from a March 23, 2023, game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, when he was with the Hornets.

Sportsbooks in multiple states detected an unusual surge in bets on the under for Rozier’s points, rebounds, and assists—including $13,759 in wagers from a professional bettor in just 46 minutes—prompting them to suspend betting on his props. Rozier played only 10 minutes before exiting with a reported foot injury.

Billups, meanwhile, was arrested in Oregon and is scheduled to appear in court for an initial hearing later today. He coached the Trail Blazers in their season opener on Wednesday, a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Details of his case have thus far remained under wraps.

The probes, led by the Eastern District of New York, also netted Jones, who, according to ABC News, provided inside information about games to co-defendants who used it to place sports bets.

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The league is tarnished

These developments echo the scandal involving former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, who received a lifetime NBA ban in 2024 for manipulating prop bets in two games. Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and awaits sentencing in December. Four other men have admitted guilt in that case.

The latest arrests intensify scrutiny on gambling’s encroachment into professional basketball, especially with legalized sports betting now widespread across the United States.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently highlighted efforts to mitigate risks, including urging sportsbook partners to limit prop bets on two-way players to prevent easy manipulation.

“We’ve asked some of our partners to pull back some of the prop bets, especially when they’re on two-way players, guys who don’t have the same stake in the competition, where it’s too easy to manipulate something, which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score,” Silver said, according to ESPN.

“We’re trying to put in place—learning as we go and working with the betting companies—some additional control to prevent some of that manipulation.”

While the league maintains it is learning and adapting, the incidents raise questions about oversight, player integrity, and the potential for further bans or reforms. As the investigations continue, the NBA faces a pivotal moment in safeguarding its competitions amid these high-profile entanglements.

They need to get this under control, and fast. The league has long faced allegations of being fixed, and a widespread gambling scandal will do nothing to squash those rumors.

This is a developing story. Bounding Into Sports will keep readers updated as new events warrant.