There was major news centered around the National Basketball Association on Thursday. According to Aaron Katersky of ABC News, three people associated with the NBA have been allegedly arrested for their connections with illegal gambling. They are Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA guard Damon Jones.
Billups was allegedly connected to “an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia.” Rozier is “accused of manipulating his performance during an NBA game to benefit illegal betting” according to Steve Gardner and Mark Giannotto of USA Today.
The legal problems that Rozier and Jones are having are directly related to the NBA. They are accused of allegedly trying to “defraud people from about December of 2022 to March of 2024 by betting based on insider information about NBA athletes and teams” and providing data about injuries and illnesses of players that were considered “non-public” information.
Billups, who is also a Hall of Famer, was coaching the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. Portland lost their 2025-26 NBA regular season opener by a score of 118-114 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Portland actually had a seven point lead after three quarters before Minnesota controlled play in the fourth quarter by outscoring Portland 30-19.
With Billups dealing with legal issues, the Trail Blazers have named Tiago Splitter of Blumenau, Brazil as their new interim head coach. Splitter played seven seasons in the NBA from 2010 to 2017 with the San Antonio Spurs. He was with the Spurs when they beat the Miami Heat in five games to win the 2014 NBA Finals.
