⚖️ 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. ⏳
By MrMuscles, sports desk · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · · 3 min read
ON RECORDPhoto: Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0By the numbers
- 3 mofrom first to latest entry on record
- 8receipts behind this story
Scoreboard first. One NBA player is banned for life and has pleaded guilty. A second player and a head coach were arrested on the same October morning in 2025. Here is what the documents and named outlets put on record, in the order it happened.
What we know
- The NBA banned Jontay Porter on April 17, 2024 after a league investigation, per the league's own announcement.
- Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 10, 2024, AP reported; prosecutors estimated just under three and a half to a little over four years.
- On October 23, 2025 the NBA placed Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups on immediate leave after federal indictments, USA Today reported.
- Rozier has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges of wire fraud and money laundering, ESPN reported in April 2026.
Jontay Porter: the lifetime ban
The NBA announced on April 17, 2024 that its investigation found Porter disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, limited his own participation in games for betting purposes and bet on NBA games. The league said another bettor placed an $80,000 parlay to win $1.1 million on Porter underperforming on March 20, and it was frozen and never paid. The league also said Porter placed at least 13 bets totaling $54,094 through an associate's account. The Athletic reported he was the first active player or coach expelled for gambling since Jack Molinas in 1954.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport"
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, in the league's April 17, 2024 statement, per NBA.com
The ring around Porter: four men charged
Brooklyn federal prosecutors charged four men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud over bets tied to a player they called "Player 1", AP reported in June 2024. The complaint alleges Player 1 owed gambling debts and agreed to leave games early, and AP reported that the details matched Porter. Lawyers for Mollah and Pham declined to comment. McCormack's attorney said "no case is a slam-dunk."
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Porter pleads guilty
On July 10, 2024, Porter pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, AP reported. He told the court he did it "to get out from under large gambling debts." He was released on $250,000 bond, with sentencing then set for Dec. 18. The statutory range runs from no prison time to 20 years. A sentence is not in the documents read for this piece.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Terry Rozier: investigated, then arrested
The NBA said on January 30, 2025 that it had looked at suspicious betting around Rozier in March 2023 and found no rules violation, NBC News reported. Federal prosecutors arrested him on October 23, 2025. Fox reported he was accused of a scheme to manipulate statistics so co-conspirators could profit from prop bets. ESPN reported in April 2026 that he has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)"Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight."
James Trusty, Rozier's lawyer, to Fox News, October 23, 2025
Chauncey Billups: the poker case
Billups, the Portland Trail Blazers head coach, was charged in connection with an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia, USA Today reported. Sports Illustrated cited two law enforcement sources telling NBC News that the arrest was not related to games he coached. Fox reported that 34 people were arrested across 11 states. The sources read carry no statement from Billups.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)The league's response and Rozier's exit
The NBA put both men on immediate leave on October 23, 2025. CBS Sports reported that their pay was held in escrow, and that the players association said it would challenge the unpaid leave for Rozier. ESPN reported the Heat waived Rozier on April 10, 2026. That report says he had been away from the team since his arrest.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)The precedent shelf
The Athletic noted that referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to two charges over betting on games he officiated. He served 11 months of a 15-month federal sentence. That is the league's other modern gambling case on record, and it involved an official, not a player.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Quick quiz · 3 questions
Earlier on file: Biggest sports betting scandals ranked: Pete Rose, Black Sox
The Jontay Porter file
- Admitted
Pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, AP reported. This story
- Reported
The NBA announced a lifetime ban after its investigation into betting rule violations, per the league's statement. This story
On file: The Jontay Porter file · The Chauncey Billups file · The National Basketball Association file · The Terry Rozier file
The Ledger
On the record
- Porter is banned for life by the NBA and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Rozier has pleaded not guilty; Billups was charged in a poker case.
Still rumour
- Ed Davis's expected guilty plea, Porter's sentence and Billups's plea are not confirmed in the documents read.
That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MrMuscles
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