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National Basketball Association

North American professional basketball league

Entries
29
On the record
17
Stories
2
Latest entry
Nov 10, 2026

The record

Compiled by the MrScandal desk from the documents below ยท Desk editor Gustavs ฤ’rkลกฤทis-Kreicbergs ยท Nov 12, 2026

The NBA gambling scandal is two federal cases unsealed in Brooklyn on October 23, 2025. One charged Heat guard Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones with selling non-public NBA information to bettors; the other charged Portland coach Chauncey Billups in a rigged poker scheme that prosecutors tied to four New York crime families. More than 30 people were arrested. Rozier and Billups pleaded not guilty and were placed on leave. A May 2026 superseding indictment named the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets as victims of an alleged $100,000 bribe to Rozier, which he denies. Rozier's trial is set for February 8, 2027; jury selection in the Billups poker trial is set for March 8, 2027.

Others have admitted their part. Damon Jones pleaded guilty in April 2026 to two wire fraud conspiracy counts, Marves Fairley pleaded guilty in May, Shane Hennen in October and Eric Earnest on October 22, 2026. Before all of them, the league banned Raptors two-way player Jontay Porter for life in April 2024; he pleaded guilty in federal court that July and, as of November 2026, had not been sentenced. In October 2026 the league told sportsbooks to stop taking first-basket, opening-tip and some under bets, and ordered in-person betting-rules training for players and staff.

The commissioner's office also disciplines owners. Adam Silver banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life in 2014 and fined him $2.5 million, then the maximum; fined Suns owner Robert Sarver $10 million in 2022 after a Wachtell Lipton investigation; and took a $10 million commitment from Mark Cuban after a 2018 Mavericks workplace probe. The largest team fine before Sarver was the $3.5 million imposed on Minnesota in 2000 over a secret Joe Smith contract. In February 2026 the league fined Utah $500,000 and Indiana $100,000 for sitting healthy players.

Questions people ask

What is the NBA gambling scandal?

On October 23, 2025, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York announced two indictments. Operation Nothing But Bet charged six people, including Terry Rozier and Damon Jones, with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy over bets placed on non-public NBA information. Operation Royal Flush charged Chauncey Billups and others in rigged poker games that prosecutors tied to the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese families. The NBA put Rozier and Billups on immediate leave. source

What is Terry Rozier charged with, and when is his trial?

After a May 2026 superseding indictment, Rozier faces sports bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy charges on top of the original wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy counts. Prosecutors allege he took a $100,000 bribe to influence his play in a 2023 Hornets game. He pleaded not guilty on June 10, 2026, and a judge set his trial for February 8, 2027. source

What happened to Chauncey Billups?

Billups is charged in the rigged poker case and has not been tried. His trial, first set for November 2026, was pushed back in September 2026: jury selection is now set for March 8, 2027, in federal court in Brooklyn, with the trial expected to last about four weeks. source

Who has pleaded guilty in the NBA betting cases?

By mid-October 2026, Damon Jones (April), Marves Fairley (May, seven counts across the NBA and college cases) and former professional gambler Shane Hennen (October) had pleaded guilty. Hennen's maximum exposure is 125 years and his sentencing is set for February 25, 2027. Eric Earnest pleaded guilty on October 22, 2026. source

Why was Jontay Porter banned from the NBA?

The league found that Porter told a person he knew to be a bettor about his health before a March 20, 2024 game, limited his own play in that game to affect bets, and placed at least 13 bets on NBA games totaling $54,094 through an associate's account. An $80,000 parlay on his underperformance, set to win $1.1 million, was frozen. Silver banned him for life on April 17, 2024. source

Did the NBA clear Terry Rozier in 2023?

No formal clearance is on record. The league investigated unusual betting on a March 2023 Hornets game and found too little evidence to fine or suspend him, so he kept playing, but a league source said in October 2025 that the investigation was never closed. Rozier's lawyer has said he was cleared. source

What betting rules did the NBA change after the scandal?

In memos sent on October 16, 2026, before the 2026-27 season, the league told sportsbooks they could no longer take bets on the first basket, rebound, assist, steal, block or 3-pointer, on the opening tip, on a player missing a shot, on unders for players expected to play only a few minutes, or parlays of several unders on one player. Players, coaches and training staff must attend live, in-person betting-rules training. source

What is the biggest fine in NBA history?

The $10 million fine on Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver in September 2022, which the league called the maximum permitted under its Constitution and By-Laws. It came with a one-year suspension, after a Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz investigation that interviewed 320 people. source

Roles and honours on the record

  • 1946-present North American professional basketball league, founded June 6, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York source
  • as of 2024 Led by Commissioner Adam Silver source
  • 2026- Named victim, with the Charlotte Hornets, in the May 2026 superseding indictment in the federal insider-betting case in the Eastern District of New York source

Every entry, newest first

Last entry Oct 23, 2025
  1. Reported

    Placed Billups and Rozier on immediate leave after the federal indictments, per its statement. NBA betting cases: Porter banned, Rozier and Billups indicted

  2. Ruled

    Judge set restitution at $217,266, shared by three defendants; the NBA had sought nearly $1.4 million, per ESPN. Biggest sports betting scandals ranked: Pete Rose, Black Sox

Stories in this file

Terry Rozier: 34 arrestedSports ยท 4d ago

โš–๏ธ NBA betting cases: Porter banned, Rozier and Billups indicted

Porter pleaded guilty and is banned for life. Rozier pleaded not guilty; Billups faces poker charges. Porter's sentence is unconfirmed. โณ

Pete Rose: 15 mo Donaghy sentenceSports ยท 6d ago

โšพ Biggest sports betting scandals ranked: Pete Rose, Black Sox

Black Sox acquitted yet banned; Pete Rose's ban ended in 2025; Tim Donaghy got 15 months. Rose's 1989 deal admitted nothing. ๐Ÿ“Œ

The record, entry by entry

Federal gambling cases (2023-2026)

  1. 2024-04-17 Ruled The NBA banned Raptors two-way player Jontay Porter for life, finding he shared confidential health information with a bettor, limited his play to affect bets, and placed at least 13 bets on NBA games totaling $54,094. The league said it had shared information with federal prosecutors. NBA.com release
  2. 2024-07-10 Admitted Porter pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, admitting he agreed to leave games early so co-conspirators could win bets on his performance, to get out from under gambling debts. Prosecutors estimated a guideline range of just under 3.5 years to a little over four years; he was released on a $250,000 bond. Associated Press report via PBS NewsHour
  3. 2025-10-23 Filed Federal authorities arrested Heat guard Terry Rozier in an insider sports-betting case and Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups in a separate rigged-poker case. Lawyers for both denied the allegations; the NBA said it took the indictments with the utmost seriousness. NBC News report
  4. 2025-10-23 Filed U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. announced the two indictments: six defendants, including Rozier and Damon Jones, charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy in the betting case, and a poker case that prosecutors tied to the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese families, with Billups described as a celebrity draw. The league placed Rozier and Billups on immediate leave. NBC News report
  5. 2025-10-23 Reported Silver said in a Prime Video interview that legal sportsbooks had flagged unusual betting around a March 2023 game, that Rozier cooperated with the league's investigation by handing over his phone and sitting for an interview, and that the league found insufficient evidence to act before turning to law enforcement. NBC Sports report
  6. 2025-10-30 Reported A league source said the 2023 Rozier investigation was never closed, so he was never cleared. The league's separate investigation into Malik Beasley over 2024 Bucks games remained open; Beasley had not been charged, and his lawyers said he was no longer the federal investigation's primary target. NBC Sports report
  7. 2026-03-09 Official The Charlotte Hornets agreed to give Miami a 2026 second-round pick to settle a dispute over the trade that sent Rozier to the Heat, which had not been told the details of the federal investigation when it made the deal. Associated Press report on NBA.com
  8. 2026-04-28 Admitted Damon Jones became the first defendant to plead guilty, to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one in each case, and agreed to forfeit $73,000. Guidelines are 21 to 27 months in the betting case and 48 to 63 months in the poker case after a 15-month reduction; sentencing is set for January 6, 2027. ESPN report
  9. 2026-05-28 Filed A superseding indictment named the NBA and the Charlotte Hornets as victims and accused Rozier of agreeing to a $100,000 bribe over a March 23, 2023 game. Rozier denies taking part; co-defendants Damon Jones and Marves Fairley have pleaded guilty, ESPN reported. ESPN report
  10. 2026-05-28 Admitted Marves Fairley pleaded guilty to seven counts across the NBA betting case and a separate college game-fixing case, including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy and bribery in sporting contests. Prosecutors are seeking 97 to 121 months; sentencing is set for February 2027. Gambling Insider report
  11. 2026-06-10 Reported Rozier pleaded not guilty to the new sports bribery and honest services wire fraud conspiracy charges, and a judge set his trial for February 8, 2027. ESPN report
  12. 2026-06-23 Reported Portland hired Micah Nori as head coach, effectively ending the tenure of Billups, who had been on leave since his October 2025 arrest and faces wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges to which he pleaded not guilty. iGaming Business report
  13. 2026-09-09 Reported The Billups poker trial, first set for November 2026, was pushed back nearly four months; jury selection is set for March 8, 2027, in federal court in Brooklyn, with the trial expected to last about four weeks. Hoops Rumors report
  14. 2026-10-14 Admitted Former professional gambler Shane Hennen pleaded guilty to sports bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy charges across two cases, one of them the NBA inside-information case. His sentencing is set for February 25, 2027. Courthouse News Service report
  15. 2026-10-22 Admitted Eric Earnest pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in the inside-information case and wire fraud in the poker case. His lawyer said Billups never gave Earnest inside information; Billups is not charged in that case. The remaining defendants, including Rozier and Billups, are set for trial in early 2027. ESPN report
  16. 2026-11-10 Reported Porter had still not been sentenced: a December 2025 sentencing hearing was adjourned indefinitely, and a sealed letter about a sentencing date was filed in September 2026, according to the court docket. RG.org report citing the court docket

League betting rules

  1. 2026-10-16 Official The league told sportsbooks they may no longer take bets on first-stat markets, the opening tip, a player missing a shot, unders on players expected to play only a few minutes, or parlays of several unders on one player, and ordered live betting-rules training for players, coaches and staff. The rules extend to the WNBA in 2027. Associated Press report via NY1

Owner discipline

  1. 2014-04-29 Ruled Commissioner Adam Silver banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and fined him $2.5 million, the maximum under the NBA Constitution, for expressions of offensive and hurtful views, and said he would urge the Board of Governors to force a sale of the team. NBA release
  2. 2014-08-12 Reported Steve Ballmer's $2 billion purchase of the Clippers closed after a California Superior Court judge confirmed Shelly Sterling's authority to sell the team for the family trust; the NBA had also filed a counterclaim against Donald Sterling, ESPN reported. ESPN report
  3. 2018-09-19 Official An independent investigation by Anne Milgram and Evan Krutoy, with 215 interviews and more than 1.6 million documents, substantiated sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct at the Mavericks over two decades. It found no evidence that Cuban knew of the former team president's misconduct; Cuban agreed to give $10 million to women's leadership and anti-domestic-violence groups. NBA statement
  4. 2022-09-13 Ruled After a Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz investigation of 320 interviews, the NBA suspended Suns and Mercury owner Robert Sarver for one year and fined him $10 million, the maximum allowed, finding his conduct clearly violated common workplace standards. It found no racial or gender-based animus behind it. NBA statement

Fines and suspensions on record

  1. 2000-10-25 Ruled Commissioner David Stern fined the Minnesota Timberwolves $3.5 million, took their next five first-round picks and voided Joe Smith's contracts after an arbitrator found the team had signed a secret agreement with Smith in January 1999, reported to be worth up to $86 million over seven years. ESPN report
  2. 2004-11 Ruled After the November 19, 2004 Pacers-Pistons brawl in Detroit, the league suspended Ron Artest for 86 games, 73 in the regular season and 13 in the playoffs, still the longest suspension in NBA history. Stephen Jackson received 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal 15, reduced from 25. ESPN list of the longest NBA suspensions
  3. 2018-02-21 Ruled The league fined Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 for public statements detrimental to the NBA after he said on a podcast that losing was the team's best option that season. It was his largest fine, above the $500,000 he was fined in 2002 for criticising the league's officiating chief. Associated Press report via NBC DFW
  4. 2023-06-16 Ruled The NBA suspended Grizzlies guard Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the 2023-24 season without pay for conduct detrimental to the league, after he showed a gun on an Instagram livestream on May 13, two months after an earlier eight-game suspension. NBA.com release
  5. 2026-02-12 Ruled The league fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 for benching Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of close games, and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 under the player participation policy for sitting Pascal Siakam and two other starters. Silver said conduct that puts draft position over winning undermines NBA competition. ESPN report

Founding

  1. 1946-06-06 Official The league was founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York, according to NBA.com's history of the date. NBA.com, This Date in the NBA: June

Documents

Connected files

  • Chauncey Billups ยท Hall of Famer, 2004 NBA Finals MVP with Detroit and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach. ยท 1 shared story
  • Jontay Porter ยท Former Toronto Raptors center and brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. ยท 1 shared story
  • Pete Rose ยท Baseball's career hits leader (4,256) and former Cincinnati Reds manager ยท 1 shared story
  • Terry Rozier ยท Guard who played for the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat; 16th pick in 2015. ยท 1 shared story
  • Tim Donaghy ยท Former NBA referee who worked 13 seasons ยท 1 shared story
  • Donald Sterling ยท American business magnate ยท named in the record
  • Adam Silver ยท NBA commissioner ยท named in the record
  • Mark Cuban ยท Dallas Mavericks owner and self-made billionaire ยท named in the record