FBI arrests NBA coach and player in gambling probe : NPR

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested Thursday in connection with an FBI investigation into illegal gambling activities involving sports betting and poker, according to federal authorities.

Around 30 people are currently in custody in connection with the schemes, with more expected to surrender themselves later, Justice Department spokesperson John Marzulli said Thursday. Both Billups and Rozier are expected to appear in federal court today, Billups in Portland and Rozier in Orlando. They will be arraigned on indictments in New York at a future date, the spokesperson said.

In 2023, when Rozier played for the Charlotte Hornets, the NBA was alerted to “unusual betting activity” related to his performance in a March game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA said in a statement earlier this year.

Rozier logged five points, four rebounds and two assists in the first quarter of that game before exiting with what the team described as “foot discomfort.” All those totals were well below his season averages, and all of them were under the betting lines set by sportsbooks for proposition wagers. Rozier did not play again for the rest of that season.

At the time, the NBA conducted an investigation and did not find any wrongdoing, the league said later.

Meanwhile, a federal investigation had proceeded separately. That investigation had hung over Rozier during the 2025 offseason.

The NBA, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, and a lawyer for Terry Rozier did not immediately return requests for comment. It was not immediately clear if Billups or Jones had legal representation.

Another NBA player, Jontay Porter, was banned for life by the league in 2024 after an investigation revealed he had worked with gamblers to manipulate his performances for the Toronto Raptors in two games that year. He later pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the scheme and is set to be sentenced in December.