Betting scandal shakes American basketball

Terry Rozier (left) is in trouble with the law.

Perhaps never before has the NBA faced such a shock. The league once considered a symbol of professionalism, where icons like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James were honored, is now engulfed in a storm of historical scandal.

The three men recently arrested by the FBI — Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones — are not just misguided individuals, but also emblematic of a problem that is deeply rooted in the core of modern basketball: the destructive power of money and gambling.

Chauncey Billups, the 2004 NBA champion and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, once known as “Mr. Big Shot” for his cool demeanor on the court, is now the subject of a national investigation. According to ESPN , he is accused of being involved in an illegal betting ring with ties to the Italian mafia – something that only seems to exist in 1980s crime movies.

More importantly, the incident broke out just one round into the 2025/26 season, and Billups was still on the sidelines directing his players when the FBI planned to arrest him.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was also arrested at a hotel in Orlando, just hours after his team lost its opening game. Another former player, Damon Jones, who played for multiple NBA teams, was also named. Three people, three generations, were caught up in a dark web that the FBI said “spanned 11 states and involved more than 30 people.”

According to FBI Director Kash Patel, this is a “historic” case with charges ranging from telecommunications fraud, money laundering, extortion, to illegal betting. He described: “We are talking about tens of millions of dollars manipulated through betting, theft and fraud over many years.”

And the name behind it? “La Cosa Nostra” - the famous Italian mafia organization, with four families: Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese.

The NBA's image is under threat.

If the allegations are proven, it would be the worst scandal since referee Tim Donaghy in 2007. But unlike Donaghy, who was an individual, this case reaches deep into the league, where coaches, players and former players are all involved. It raises a serious question: has the NBA lost control of the gambling whirlwind, where every shot, every rebound can now be tied to millions of dollars in online bets?

American basketball, a source of national pride, is facing an ethical rift that is difficult to heal. For many years, the NBA has opened its doors to legal gambling companies to sponsor, advertise and even become “strategic partners”. This legalization has blurred the line between business and crime. When money becomes the focus, the value of sports is pushed back.

Billups, who taught his players about “will and honor,” now faces charges that could end his career. Rozier, a player once known for his fighting spirit, is now labeled “a gambler against the sport that fed him.” And Damon Jones, an icon of the older generation, becomes a bridge between the past and the present in a case that has the shadow of a “dark network.”

So far, the NBA, the Blazers, and the Heat have been silent. But that silence is like a wake-up call. When the numbers on the betting board ring louder than the squeal of shoes on the court, the question is no longer who wins or loses—it’s who believes.

The Billups–Rozier–Jones affair may be just the tip of the iceberg that threatens to destroy the NBA’s image. Because once a sport loses its integrity, every victory becomes meaningless. And when trust is lost, no shot—no matter how accurate—can restore American basketball to its former purity.

Source: https://znews.vn/be-boi-ca-do-lam-rung-dong-bong-ro-my-post1596549.html