NBA puts Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups on leave after arrests in gambling probe

The NBA wasted no time addressing Thursday’s stunning wave of arrests.

“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the league said in a statement. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”

Rozier, Billups, and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones are among several individuals arrested as part of a sweeping federal investigation into illegal sports betting and poker operations with organized crime ties, per NBC News.

Rozier’s attorney Jim Trusty blasted the early-morning arrest, calling it “a photo op” and insisting that the Heat guard “is not a gambler.”

Trusty said Rozier had previously cooperated with prosecutors and expects to “win this fight.”

According to federal officials, Rozier and five others are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering after allegedly using inside information to place unlawful wagers on NBA games.

The charges stem from a 2023 game when Rozier, then with the Hornets, exited after nine minutes with a foot injury — a contest that triggered suspicious betting activity on his props.

Billups’ arrest, meanwhile, is tied to a related illegal poker operation allegedly backed by New York crime families.

Prosecutors said recognizable figures like Billups were used to lure in unsuspecting players to rigged high-stakes games involving hidden cameras, marked cards, and X-ray tables.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York will hold a press conference later Thursday with the FBI and Homeland Security to outline the full scope of the case.

It’s the same federal probe that previously led to former Raptors big man Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban and guilty plea for wire fraud.