Who’re the NBA coaches and participant arrested for unlawful sports activities betting and rigged poker video games

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones have been arrested Thursday in reference to a federal investigation into unlawful sports activities betting and rigged poker video games again by Mafia.

Billups was charged with collaborating in a conspiracy to repair high-stakes card video games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons that have been backed by La Cosa Nostra Crime households. Rozier was accused in a second scheme to concoct fraudulent bets by exploiting confidential details about NBA athletes and groups. Jones is charged with collaborating in each schemes.

Here’s a take a look at the NBA figures concerned:

Chauncey Billups

Billups, 49, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in 2024. The Denver native performed faculty ball at Colorado, then was the No. 3 choose by Boston in 1997. He additionally performed for Toronto, Denver (two stints), Minnesota, Detroit (two stints), the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Clippers in a 17-year enjoying profession.

Billups was a five-time All-Star and received a championship with Detroit in 2004, when he was named the NBA Finals MVP.

On Nov. 16, 2020, Billups was named a Clippers assistant on coach Tyronn Lue’s workers. Billups was employed as Portland’s coach in 2021 and signed a multi-year extension with the Trail Blazers on April 13. Billups took a 117-211 teaching document into this season.

Billups was generally known as Mr. Big Shot throughout his enjoying profession and received the Joe Dumars Trophy, the NBA’s sportsmanship award, in 2009 whereas enjoying for his hometown Nuggets.

Terry Rozier

Rozier, 30, was raised primarily by his mom as his father, Terry Rozier Sr., has been in jail for many of the youthful Rozier’s life. Rozier, a local of Youngstown, Ohio, was a standout guard at Louisville who was the sixteenth choose by the Boston Celtics in 2015.

Rozier was traded to Charlotte on July 6, 2019 and flourished with the Hornets. He set profession highs by averaging 18 factors within the 2019-20 season, 20.4 factors the next season and 21.1 factors in 2022-23.

Onn Jan. 23, 2024, Rozier was traded to Miami for Kyle Lowry. Rozier averaged 10.6 factors for Miami within the 2024-25 season whereas enjoying in 64 video games, together with 23 begins.

In 2018, Rozier turned solely the second participant in NBA historical past to document a triple-double in his first begin when he scored 17 factors with 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Boston’s 103-73 win over the Knicks.

WATCH: Heat’s Rozier and Trail Blazers’ Billups amongst dozens charged in sports activities betting, Mafia-backed poker schemes

Rozier’s recreation on March 23, 2023 for Charlotte towards New Orleans has been in query. He performed the primary 9 minutes and 36 seconds within the first quarter earlier than exiting and didn’t play once more in that recreation or the ultimate eight video games of the season. Charlotte was not in playoff competition, so it didn’t appear significantly uncommon that Rozier was shut down. However, posts nonetheless on-line from that 2023 recreation present that some bettors have been livid with sportsbooks. Many posted on social media that one thing “shady” had gone on relating to the prop bets involving Rozier’s stats for that evening.

A prop is a sort of wager that permits gamblers to guess on whether or not a participant will exceed a sure statistical quantity, reminiscent of whether or not the participant will end over or underneath a sure whole of factors, rebounds, assists and extra.

Rozier was in uniform because the Heat performed the Magic in Orlando Wednesday night, although he didn’t play within the recreation.

Damon Jones

Jones, 49, was an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23 when he allegedly was concerned with the betting scheme, based on the indictment. He’s been teaching since at the very least 2014 after ending an 11-year NBA enjoying profession.

He is from Galveston, Texas, and performed for Houston in faculty earlier than suiting up with NBA groups in New Jersey, Boston, Golden State, Dallas, Vancouver, Detroit, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Miami and Cleveland.

Jones averaged 11.6 factors within the 2004-05 season with Miami, his solely season scoring in double figures.

Jones joined Cleveland’s teaching workers in 2014 as a capturing marketing consultant. He was on Tyronn Lue’s Cleveland workers for the postseason in 2016 and was named a full-time assistant for the Cavaliers later that 12 months. He additionally labored as a TV analyst for ESPN in 2018.