A federal gambling investigation rocked the NBA world this week, with Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones getting arrested. It immediately became one of the biggest stories in sports, not just the NBA. It also came out right when the NBA was starting back up, overshadowing some of the plays on the court early in the year.
Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd brought that up when asked about his thoughts on the gambling allegations when talking to the media. He was directly asked about his thoughts on the allegations, but instead, he dodged the question and talked about how he hoped that what was happening on the court was not getting overlooked.
Kidd said, “At the start of the season, we’ve had our MVP score of 55 points. I got to see that, up close, Victor scored 40 points. Hopefully that doesn’t overshadow what these young men are doing because this is a beautiful game and they’re playing it at a high level and it’s fun to be a part of… Hopefully, they can get that fixed.”
Jason Kidd has a point because Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 55 points in a double overtime win against the Pacers in an NBA Finals rematch. Victor Wembanyama scored 40 points in their first game between the Mavericks and the Spurs.
However, this gambling investigation spreads far and wide because its tentacles might reach the entire sport. Sports need to be as fair as possible. Still, when illegal gambling allegations pop up with the idea of players potentially rigging games, that story will also spread because it can call into question the entire fairness of the sport in general.
One of the biggest storylines in the NBA this year revolves around Kidd's Dallas Mavericks and how they will look with the top pick from the 2025 NBA Draft, Cooper Flagg, on their roster. It will also be interesting to watch how they use Flagg because they have used him as a point guard.
