NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday he was “deeply disturbed” by allegations of criminal gambling fraud that resulted in the indictments of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat star Terry Rozier a day earlier.
“There is nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition,” Silver said in a halftime interview during Friday’s Boston Celtics-New York Knicks game. “And then I felt a pit in my stomach, it was very disturbing.”
The federal indictments announced Thursday alleged two fraud schemes, one involving cheating in illegal poker games and another involving NBA games and online sports betting.
In the NBA fraud, Rozier and five others are accused of exploiting confidential information about players and teams so others could place bets, which FBI Director Kash Patel likened to insider trading.
In one case, Rozier allegedly tipped off a friend about plans to prematurely leave a game in 2023, and bets were then placed with that non-public knowledge.
Billups is accused of the alleged poker scheme. Prosecutors said it was a “Face Card,” a high-profile figure used to lure players into rigged games.
Lawyers for Billups and Rozier denied the allegation and said the men will fight the charges.
The allegations have put a spotlight on online sports betting that is now legal in many states, although those sportsbooks have not been charged with any crimes, and U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said the sportsbooks were victims.
Rozier had been investigated by the league in 2023 for gambling.
Silver said Friday that the league’s investigation was launched after legal sportsbooks noticed unusual behavior surrounding a game in March 2023.
In the end, the league’s investigation found there was insufficient evidence to move forward, Silver said.
“While there were aberrant bets, frankly we couldn’t find anything,” Silver said. “Terry was cooperative at that point, gave his phone number to the league office and sat down for an interview.”
Silver said the NBA has been cooperating with authorities.
“The federal government has subpoena power, they can threaten to put people in jail, they can do all kinds of things that a league office can’t do. So we’ve been working with them ever since,” Silver said.
In total, 34 people were charged in the two cases. The poker game plan involves 31 people being charged and six are charged in the NBA’s reporting plan. But three defendants in the NBA scheme are also charged in the poker case.
