Chauncey billups As scandal rocks the NBA, can we believe anything we see on the court?
The Golden State Warriors opened their home season Thursday night with Draymond Green taking the opening tip from Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
At least that’s what it seemed. But can we be certain of everything we’re seeing?
The Warriors’ matchup took place under the shadow of a dark cloud hanging over the NBA, a scandal that threatens the league’s integrity and even profitability.
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A scandal that can make you question everything that happens on an NBA court.
Everything—from the winning opening tip to the points scored—can be a prop bet. Was that rebound missed by a Nuggets player accidentally or intentionally? Was the Warriors’ missed free throw just a bad shot? Was everything we saw real and legitimate?
The NBA was rocked Thursday morning when news broke that Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland head coach Chauncey Billups, and more than 30 others—including a close associate of LeBron James—had been arrested and charged in a massive gambling and poker-fixing scandal. In Rozier’s case, he is accused of faking injuries to allow bookmakers to win prop bets and using insider information about player availability, which could also influence prop bets.
Assuming this scandal was limited to those currently involved or a minor incident in the sports world would be extremely naive.
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Gambling was once a kind of third rail for all sports leagues. If fans don’t trust your product, how can you expect them to buy it? How can you charge fans so much—tickets for the Warriors-Nuggets match were selling for hundreds of dollars, in some cases over a thousand dollars per seat—if fans don’t even believe what they’re seeing is real?
Gambling in professional sports is no longer untouchable. Quite the contrary. Gambling sites have become the preferred “partners” of all sports leagues. DraftKings, FanDuel, and other betting sites, where millions of people—from teenagers to senior citizens—take out their phones and place bets, are linked to all leagues. Leagues make money from gambling, team owners make money from gambling, the media makes money from gambling advertisements and sponsorships, and gambling sites make money from gambling. Would you be surprised if athletes also wanted to make money from gambling?
Although the NBA has created a gambling-centric world, it prohibits its players and employees from betting on games, influencing games, or disclosing confidential information—such as injuries—that could be used for gambling. Every year, each team’s legal advisors brief their players and employees on the rules and restrictions. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the team’s lawyers spoke with the team a few days ago.
But the bookmakers’ interest isn’t limited to players and league employees. Among those arrested on Thursday was former player and coach Damon Jones, who is now part of James’s entourage and, according to reports, frequently travels on the Lakers’ team plane. He provided information about James’ availability. How can a league curb people who aren’t employees?
Kerr said, “The league is very firm on this matter. A big part of that meeting was, ‘If you tell a friend that a player isn’t playing and then that person tells someone else, you’re responsible.'” We know that. The league has kept us informed and up-to-date.”
Warriors guard Stephen Curry said, “I think overall everyone has a good understanding of what to do and what not to do, and they’re fully understanding the sports landscape right now.” “And it’s not just about the NBA. This is new territory for everyone. I think overall, we’re all very responsible. The integrity of the game is fine. Obviously, we’ll let the situation play out… but I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
The NBA is a small league, where everyone knows each other and players come and go, so it’s no surprise that this messy scandal reached Chase Center. Billups’ younger brother is an assistant on head coach David Adelman’s staff. Warriors forward Jimmy Butler played with Rozier in Miami last season. Warriors winger Gary Payton II played for Billups in Portland. Jones, then a second-year guard, had coffee with the Warriors in 1999.
Everyone knows how widespread gambling has become. Players are primarily aware of it because they are frequently harassed on social media by gamblers who lose bets because the player in question didn’t score enough points or grab enough rebounds.
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