The 2025-2026 NBA season tipped off on Oct. 21, but less than 48 hours later, one of the biggest scandals in NBA history rocked the league to its core.
On the morning of Thursday, Oct. 23, Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones were arrested by the FBI. These were two separate operations carried out by the FBI. Billups was arrested in what the FBI is calling “Operation Royal Flush,” Rozier was arrested in “Operation Nothing but Net” and Jones was arrested for his involvement in both scandals.
“This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that’s spanned the course of years,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a press conference. “The FBI led a coordinated takedown across 11 states to arrest 30 individuals for this case, which is very much ongoing.”
Both scandals have ties with “La Casa Nostra,” commonly referred to as the “Mafia” or the “Mob,” according to Patel. Billups was arrested for participating in rigged poker games. Billups, along with other individuals, had insider information from outside technology like X-ray tables, hidden cameras and special contact lenses or glasses to see marked cards. A “quarterback” at the table would relay the inside information to the cheating players with a subtle signal. Something like touching a specific chip or scratching his nose, etc.
“The fraud is mind-boggling,” Patel said in the press conference. “It’s not hundreds of dollars, it’s not thousands of dollars, it’s not tens of thousands of dollars, it’s not even millions of dollars; we’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud, theft and robbery.”
Rozier was arrested for allegedly fixing NBA games by giving out insider information. According to a CBS Sports article, this included telling people he wasn’t going to play, or that he was going to take himself out of the game in order for the under on his prop bets to hit. On March 23, 2023, the Charlotte Hornets were taking on the New Orleans Pelicans. In that game, Rozier only played 10 minutes before leaving with an apparent injury. This game, along with several others, specifically flagged Rozier. There was a suspicious amount of money being wagered on him to go under all of his lines. The NBA previously conducted its own investigation on Rozier back in January, but didn’t find a violation of league rules.
Jones, who is a former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, was also arrested for feeding insider information to a bettor, according to an article from Yahoo Sports. He told him that LeBron James wouldn’t play in a game and for him to bet on the Milwaukee Bucks because of it.
“This ain’t got nothing to do with addiction,” NBA hall of famer and analyst Charles Barkley said. “These dudes are stupid; under no circumstances can you fix basketball games… Rozier makes $26 million. How much is he going to benefit by taking himself out of the game to hit unders?”
The integrity and authenticity of the NBA has taken a massive hit due to this scandal. Conspiracy theorists have long believed that the NBA has always been rigged and had predetermined outcomes. While this may just be an isolated incident that paints a bad picture for the league, it’s easy to suspect that other players and coaches might be gambling on games or exploiting insider information as well.
This is now the second gambling related scandal the NBA has faced in less than a year. Back in January, former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, was banned from the NBA for life after throwing games and telling people to take the under.
A potential solution to the NBA’s gambling problem would be to cut ties with sportsbooks. Companies like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and many others are all partnered with the NBA. It’s essentially impossible to not see an ad or promotion about a promo code or a parlay profit boost during a broadcast of an NBA game. That’s why cutting ties entirely is extremely unlikely; the NBA generates hundreds of millions of dollars from the gambling industry and their partnerships. The NBA isn’t going to willingly cut off an industry bringing in nine figures.
CBS Sports reported that Billups and Rozier have both been released from custody after meeting bond. Billups’ court date is set for Nov. 24 in Eastern District Court in Brooklyn, New York. Rozier will appear in the same courtroom on Dec. 8. While Billups and Rozier’s fates will be decided in court, there’s pretty good odds that neither of them will be anywhere near an NBA court for the rest of their lives.
