NBA news: Who are Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones?

Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested Thursday morning as part of the FBI’s investigations into allegations of illegal gambling linked to the La Cosa Nostra crime families.

Billups and Jones allegedly knowingly participated in rigged poker games, while Rozier and Jones allegedly leaked non-public information about NBA games so that those close to them could place bets that would give them a competitive advantage.

Everyone has or had important roles in the NBA, but now their legacies are seemingly tarnished.

Here’s the details on how Billups, Rozier and Jones got to where they are today.

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Chauncey Billups

Billups was a standout player, primarily with the Detroit Pistons, before returning to the court as a coach.

Billups, along with Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton, coached by Larry Brown, won an NBA championship in 2004, when Billups was named Finals MVP.

Before that, Billups was selected third overall by the Boston Celtics in 1997 after playing for Colorado. He was in Boston for about half a season before being traded to the Toronto Raptors. He was then traded to the Denver Nuggets the following year and signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000.

Billups signed with Detroit before the 2002-03 season and found his niche, developing into a strong defensive player and being named to four of the five All-Star teams as a Piston. From 2011 until the end of his career, he played again for the Nuggets, the New York Knicks, the Los Angeles Clippers, and then the Pistons for the last time, calling it a career. From 2003 to 2011, he averaged 17.3 points and 6.2 assists per game.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups watches from the sidelines during the first half of a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the Moda Center on April 6, 2025 in Portland, Oregon. (Soobum Im/Imagn Images)

He was hired as an assistant coach with the Clippers in 2020, then became the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers the following year. He agreed a multi-year extension with the club in April.

Billups is allegedly named as one of the “face cards” in the indictment, who are described as “members of the Cheat Teams and received a portion of the proceeds of crime in exchange for their participation in the scheme.” The scheme caused victims to lose at least $7.15 million by April 2019, according to the Department of Justice.

The Justice Department said Billups “was used to lure victims to the games due to their status as former professional athletes.”

Billups was one of five defendants who “arranged and participated in rigged poker games using a rigged shuffling machine” in Las Vegas, and the victims lost at least $50,000. One of the defendants texted another accomplice, saying Billups had to deliberately lose his hand to avoid suspicion of cheating.

During that match, a defendant said Billups “star-struck” him because one of the victims “acted like he wanted Chauncey to get his money,” according to authorities.

In October 2020, $50,000 was allegedly wired to Billups following a fraudulent poker game.

Billups’ career earnings exceeded $100 million as a player, while Jones earned at least $20 million.

Detroit Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups (1) makes a free throw in the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons won 113-102. (Tim Fuller/USA Today Sports)

Billups is not involved in the sports betting scandal that led to Terry Rozier’s arrest. However, the Department of Justice cited the Trail Blazers-Chicago Bulls matchup on March 24, 2023, one day after Rozier’s alleged misdeeds; In that encounter, a co-conspirator who was “an NBA coach at the time” allegedly told a longtime friend who was also a defendant in the fraudulent poker scheme that the Blazers would “tank” for a better draft pick that night and sit some of the team’s best players. The rest of the cast has not yet been publicly announced. The team’s four top scorers, including Damian Lillard, did not play that night because other conspirators allegedly bet more than $100,000 combined against Portland.

The “co-conspirator” in question is listed as a former NBA player whose career spanned “approximately 1997 to 2014” and “an NBA coach since at least 2021.” Only Billups fits this criterion.

Terry Rozier

Rozier was the only active NBA player arrested on Thursday; Rozier is accused of deliberately leaving a match early in 2023, citing his injury so his accomplices could allegedly place bets on him “under”.

Rozier played two seasons at the University of Louisville before becoming a tarnished player and was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Rozier was drafted by the Boston Celtics and spent most of his first four seasons working off the bench. After the 2018-19 season, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, where he established himself and became a regular starter.

Charlotte Hornets player #3 Terry Rozier clears the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during a game at Spectrum Center on January 20, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

DOJ SAYS 7 NBA GAMES AFFECTED BY HIGH BETTING AFTER INSIDER INFORMATION LEAKED TO GAMBLERS

As his minutes increased, he averaged 18.0 points per game in his first season with Charlotte. He scored 20.4 points the next season and reached a career-high 21.1 points in the 2022-23 season.

Because of his talent, Rozier signed a four-year, $97 million contract extension with the Hornets shortly before the start of the 2021-22 season. However, he was traded to the Miami Heat in the 2023-24 season in exchange for Kyle Lowry and a first-round draft pick.

It was first reported in January that Rozier was being investigated for his involvement in a game on March 23, 2023.

Rozier allegedly told his childhood friend Deniro Laster that he would take him out of the game early, citing an injury, so Laster could place a bet based on that information. According to the indictment, neither Hornets officials nor bookmakers were informed of Rozier’s plan, and Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard AJ Johnson (5) during the first quarter at Capital One Arena on May 31, 2025. (Reggie Hildred/Imagn Images)

Laster then allegedly sold this information to other conspirators, and numerous individuals placed bets totaling approximately $200,000 on Rozier’s “underdog” prop bets to succeed in both parlay and straight bets. Rozier won the bets after playing just nine minutes and never returning. The indictment states that Rozier and Laster counted the cash proceeds about a week later at Rozier’s home in Charlotte.

damon jones

Despite going undrafted out of Houston in 1997, Jones managed to play 11 seasons in the NBA. The definition of a journeyman, Jones played for 10 teams throughout his career. However, during his tenure, he was teammates with prominent stars, including LeBron James during his three-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2008. He also spent a season with Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal on the Miami Heat.

After his playing career, he became a coach and won a championship as an assistant with James and the Cavs in 2016. Jones joined James’ current team, the Los Angeles Lakers, as an unofficial, unpaid coaching staff for the 2022-23 season. However, Jones has been accused of wrongdoing during that season.

He allegedly told someone close to him that a “well-known” Lakers player would not play on February 9, 2023, before the information was made public.

“Place a big bet [the] Milwaukee [Bucks] Before the information is released tonight! [Player 3] out tonight. Bet enough so Djones can eat [sic] Now!!!” Jones allegedly texted a friend.

The DOJ said the player was ultimately removed from the game because of a lower-body injury — James did not play that night due to an ankle injury that sidelined him for two more games, and ESPN reported that the player in question was, in fact, James. The game in question took place two days after James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer by scoring 38 points.

LeBron James (23) talks with Cavaliers Head Coach Tyronn Lue (not pictured) and former teammate Damon Jones during an empty practice before the Golden State Warriors play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

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Jones also allegedly gave blatant inside information about an injury to another “one of the Lakers’ best players” 11 months later that could affect his performance; this ultimately backfired as the player “performed well” and the Lakers won.

Billups, Rozier and Jones, defendants in both cases, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Billups and Rozier were placed on immediate leave from their teams and “we will continue to cooperate with the appropriate authorities.”

“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.

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