BREAKING: NBA Coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat Star Busted by Feds in Illegal Gambling Probe

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were both arrested Thursday morning in connection with an FBI investigation into illegal sports betting, according to multiple reports.

Law enforcement sources told ESPN that Billups and Rozier were among six people set to be charged.

FBI Director Kash Patel is expected to formally announce the charges during a Thursday news conference at 10 a.m. ET in New York City. Law enforcement sources reportedly told ABC News that Billups’ charges stem from an “illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia.”

Rozier was reportedly arrested at a hotel in Orlando hours after the Heat’s season-opening loss to the Magic. He did not play in that game, officially listed as sidelined by a hamstring injury.

Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania that the probe centers on suspicious wagers tied to Rozier’s performance in a March 2023 Hornets-Pelicans game, when sportsbooks halted betting after a sudden flood of bets on his “under” stats.

Billups, who played in the NBA for 17 years prior to becoming the coach of the Trail Blazers, is the first professional sports coach in America to be cited for gambling since Pete Rose was banned from Major League Baseball in 1989. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

Sports betting has become a growing issue in the NBA. The league banned former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter last season after he was found to have bet on his own game; and free agent Malik Beasley has been under investigation for suspicious betting activity stemming from the 2023-24 season.