As an FBI gambling probe sweeps through the NBA, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is the latest prominent figure to get caught up. On Thursday morning, reports emerged that the former NBA player was arrested.
“BREAKING | NBC News: Chauncey Billups, Head Coach of the Portland Trail Blazers has been arrested in connection with an investigation into illegal gambling — not related to games he coached — two senior law enforcement officials say,” NBC News National Law Enforcement & Intelligence Correspondent Tom Winter tweeted.
This news came shortly after Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was also taken into custody for illegal gambling.
Shortly after the news broke, ABC News released more info about the potential charges.
“Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has been charged in an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia, law enforcement sources have told ABC News,” the account wrote on X. “Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested in a separate but related betting case.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, along with District of New York Joseph Nocella, Assistant Director of the FBI Chris Raia, HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel, and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch have a press conference scheduled for Thursday morning to explain more about the charges.
Chauncey Billups is in the Basketball Hall of Fame after a 17-year NBA career. He was selected third overall in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Boston Celtics after a standout career at Colorado. He would go on to play for seven total NBA teams and make five All-Star squads and three All-NBA teams. His longest tenure was with the Detroit Pistons from 2002 to 2009 and then again in his final season. In 2004, he won a championship with the Pistons and was NBA Finals MVP.
The 49-year-old started his coaching career in 2020 as Tyronn Lue's assistant on the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2021, he got the job as Blazers head coach and signed a contract extension with the team ahead of the 2025 season.
