The NBA was hit with a bombshell early this morning. Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat star Terry Rozier were both arrested for being involved in a large gambling scheme that also included the Italian mafia. And unfortunately, it’s not about to get any better.
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The Billups link has to do with an illegal poker game, but the Rozier link is even wilder. The 31-year-old allegedly leaked inside info about his playing status before a game so others could cash in big on prop bets. Now, we have a little bit more info as to when that happened.
NBA analyst David Purdum did an interview with Zach Lowe and detailed some of the of Rozier’s indictment. Purdum revealed that the time he alleged leaked these details were when he was on the Charlotte Hornets.
“The Terry Rozier game from 2023, he was with the Hornets at the time. He was playing the Pelicans. According to the indictment, he revealed to one of his childhood friends that he was not going to be playing very long in this game. He was not listed on the injury report.”
It was then that a bunch of prop bets came in for Rozier, except they were all for the under due to the knowledge of him not playing long.
“Soon as that happened all this money started coming in on the under on Rozier’s props. Under on his points, under on his rebounds, under on his assists. And when that happened, sportsbooks halted wagering on him at a time.”
As if that wasn’t a bad enough look for Rozier, Purdum added this: “His childhood friend and him actually met back up at Rozier’s house in Charlotte about a week after that game to “count the money” as it says in the indictment.”
This story will most likely only continue to get crazier before it gets simpler. And according to Purdum, there is still much more to come, including with college basketball. He also dropped that More NBA stars will soon be named.
“I don’t think this story is anywhere close to over. I think we’re going to get some more stuff out of college basketball pretty soon, and it wouldn’t surprise me if some more people in the NBA, whether current or former players, are named.”
“I don’t think this story is anywhere close to over. I think we’ll get more stuff out of college b-ball and wouldn’t surprise me if more NBA players are named”
– David Purdum on the latest NBA betting scandal https://t.co/457ikfjvn7 pic.twitter.com/u1FjnVH2GR
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) October 23, 2025
Rozier’s attorney has released a statement saying, “It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case.”
It’s safe to say the NBA hasn’t seen a scandal like this in a long time. Between the mafia connections, illegal betting, and the possibility of more names being dropped, the league is officially in damage control mode.
For Rozier and Billups, their futures in basketball are hanging on by a thread. And if Purdum’s right, this could just be the tip of a much bigger iceberg.
