Not even one month into the start of the 2025-2026 NBA season, over 30 people have been indicted in a developing FBI case. Famous names such as Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups, and Damon Jones are major people in the case.
Sports betting is a popular pastime that is now developing controversy, specifically in the NBA. The accusations made against multiple players and coaches have shaken the integrity of the organization and the game of basketball.
Among the players whom the FBI arrested in this scandal, Terry Rozier, point guard for the Miami Heat and ten-year league veteran, was taken into custody in Orlando on Oct. 23, 2025. He traveled there to play in the team’s season opener against the Orlando Magic, which they lost 125-121. The FBI opened an investigation into Rozier under accusations of manipulating his participation in game(s) in order to affect the outcome of online bets.
In the case, he is specifically alleged to have provided a childhood friend with information about his plan to leave a game on March 23, 2023, which allegedly allowed his friend to bet the “under.”
Sportsbooks will set a predetermined number for the score of a game. Betting the under entails wagering that said number will be lower.
Rozier’s former team, the Charlotte Hornets, lost to the New Orleans Pelicans that night 96-115. Rozier took himself out of the game on account of a supposed foot injury during the fourth quarter. It raised suspicion when internet users looked a little closer and found that he had landed just fine. Rozier has since been released on bail under the conditions that he surrenders his passport and uses his Florida home as collateral. He was also suspended from the NBA, without pay.
Junior Tristan Cameron plays on the Benjamin Boys’ varsity basketball team and is an avid NBA fan.
“He [Terry Rozier] has to get his money somehow, so I don’t mind it. If I were a bettor, which I’m not, it wouldn’t affect the way I choose to bet because I’d put my trust in players who have proved themselves,” said Cameron.
Less than an hour later, the FBI arrested the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers and a former championship winner on the Detroit Pistons, Chauncey Billups. He is accused of participating in illegal poker games run by the mafia, in which the mafia used technology to cheat, including X-ray tables and premarked cards. Billups participation supposedly used his notoriety to lure players to the game.
Similarly, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Damon Jones was arrested for rigged poker game cases. He is also accused of selling information as to whether LeBron James and Anthony Davis, two Lakers players, would play in a given game. Jones has pleaded not guilty on both charges.
Senior Julian Luiz finds sports betting to be a strange concept.
“It’s a fascinating thing,” said Luiz. “More people watch the games if there’s something to gain. That takes away from the fun of sports.”
The recent events in the NBA pose an important question. If the only reason that you’re watching is to make money, are you really a fan?
