NBA’s darkest moment! Coaches and players were arrested one after another! The mastermind behind the gambling game!

The famous reporter Shams once again ignited the league:

According to reports, Trail Blazers coach Billups was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of illegal gambling; according to ABC follow-up reports, Billups was indicted on suspicion of participating in an illegal poker operation ring related to the Mafia, and was subsequently arrested in Oregon.

In addition, Heat guard Rozier was also investigated by the FBI for involvement in sports betting and was arrested by the police in a Florida hotel.

A player and a coach were arrested on the same day. It is really full of black humor.

The story begins in the season opener. The Heat faced the Magic in the opener, but Rozier did not choose to play. At that time, the team announced that it was arranged by the coach, but unexpectedly, he was taken away by the FBI in front of the hotel the next morning.

According to details revealed by ESPN, Rozier was suspected of participating in an illegal gambling investigation; before that, he had already been targeted by relevant investigative agencies.

In March 2023, when the Hornets faced the Pelicans, Rozier, wearing a Hornets jersey, left the field due to a foot injury after playing only 10 minutes in the first quarter. Before the game, betting companies in several states saw a surge in betting on his personal data. In just 46 minutes, someone made 30 crazy bets, involving a total amount of $14,000.

What is outrageous is that all these betting results were bet on "Rozier's scoring data", and in the end Rozier left the game early, and all bets were successful; for these unusually close calls, coincidence cannot be ruled out, but as the FBI intervened in the investigation, coincidence became a script. It's just that Rozier had a lawyer who came out to block the gun, but this time it was different. The players were taken away directly.

Another protagonist, Chauncey Billups, the FMVP who led the Pistons to the championship and accompanied the Blazers in their rebuilding, was also arrested in Oregon for being involved in a Mafia gambling case.

Just when everyone thought the turmoil was over, the American broadcaster NBC added another punch:

Former Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also arrested on suspicion of providing others with inside information about NBA games for gambling arbitrage.

According to reports, the FBI in the Eastern District of New York and the FBI will officially announce a more complete list of arrested persons at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in North America. This sentence is somewhat meaningful. Maybe there are some names of acquaintances hidden in this list.

Tracing back to its origins, the fuse of this storm originated from Joetay Porter, the Raptors center who was banned for life.

He admitted in 2024 to manipulating the game and deliberately fixing matches to make his data lower than the odds. He had previously been investigated to plead guilty and is awaiting sentencing. In his confession, it is said that an entire sports betting industry chain was involved.

From this perspective, there may be more to it than just private gambling by a few players. But currently, the one who can't sleep the most may be NBA President Adam Silver.

Two days before this series of gambling scandals broke out, Xiao Huacai talked about related matters on a public program:

"We are asking some bookmakers to withdraw bets on two-way players because this kind of betting is too easy to be manipulated."

As soon as he finished speaking, he was immediately slapped in the face by reality. Coaches, players, and even retired players were arrested successively. With this series of thunder, who cares about betting on two-way players. In fact, Adam Silver has been working hard to balance the league in recent years. While actively promoting the legalization of gambling to increase commercial income, he also needs to prevent team insiders from participating in violations.

But when interests collide with human nature, no matter how strict the rules are, they cannot prevent human greed.