Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: NBA, Basketball
Ryan Smart
An NBA player is serving a lifetime ban from the sport after betting on one of his own team's matches.
The sport is currently engulfed in two separate scandals relating to betting, with three current or former NBA players and coaches arrested in the United States this week.
The first is an FBI-led federal investigation into what is described as 'criminal schemes to rig illegal poker games at various locations in New York City and throughout the United States'.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups - also an NBA Hall of Famer - and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones have both been charged as part of the investigation.
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And current Miami Heat shooting guard Terry Rozier has been charged with 'conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering' after suspicious betting interest on his statistics was flagged up before an NBA game in 2023. Jones has also been charged in relation to the second investigation.
It is alleged that 31-year-old Rozier purposely took himself out of a game involving Charlotte Hornets - his former team - and New Orleans Pelicans early, so that a co-conspirator could win a bet.
Should Rozier be found guilty, the NBA have previously set a precedent when it comes to punishing players for gambling violations.
In April 2024, the league issued a lifetime ban to Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, stating that the now 26-year-old violated its gambling policies.
Porter was under investigation for allegedly placing 13 bets on NBA matches, with one of those bets on his own team to lose.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of wire fraud conspiracy in July 2024, and admitted that he had tipped off others that he would leave several NBA games early.
That allowed the bettors to bet against his performance using 'under' markets relating to Porter's statistics.
Porter said that he had amassed 'significant gambling debts' before apologising for his role in the conspiracy. Five others were charged as part of the case.
The 26-year-old will be sentenced on December 10, 2025. The Athletic report that, based on sentencing guidelines, Porter will likely face between 41 to 51 months in prison despite the charge carrying a maximum term of 20 years.