NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed his deep dismay on Friday following the arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups in an extensive FBI investigation into illegal gambling and organized crime.
“My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” Silver stated during an interview on Amazon Prime’s broadcast, emphasizing that “There’s nothing more important for the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition.”
The arrests have rocked the NBA just as the new season begins. Rozier, along with former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones, was charged in an illegal betting scheme, accused of using non-public information on player injuries and absences to manipulate bets between December 2022 and March 2024. Specifically, prosecutors allege Rozier informed co-conspirators he would leave a March 2023 game early due to a supposed injury while with the Charlotte Hornets, enabling them to profit on his performance-based bets.
In a separate indictment, Hall of Famer and Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was apprehended in connection with a nationwide scheme to rig illegal, high-stakes poker games, allegedly backed by Mafia crime families. The poker games reportedly used “high-tech cheating technology,” including hidden cameras and rigged shuffling machines.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the overall probe as uncovering “a criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra.”
Both Billups and Rozier, who have denied all wrongdoing through their attorneys, were immediately suspended by the NBA. They were arraigned on Thursday on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Silver acknowledged that the scandal has cast a shadow over the start of the season. “I apologize to our fans that we are all dealing with, now, this situation,” he said, though he noted that the competition on the floor “has been spectacular.”
The commissioner also revealed that the league had previously investigated Rozier after being alerted to “aberrational betting” activity in 2023 but concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to move forward at the time. Silver added that the league is fully cooperating with federal authorities, who possess broader investigative powers to pursue the case.
The revelations come as professional sports leagues across North America continue to embrace partnerships with betting firms following the legalization of sports gambling in most US states. The NFL also reportedly sent a memo to all its teams reminding players and staff that betting on NFL games and any illegal gambling are strictly prohibited.