Less than a week into the 2025-2025 season, the NBA is facing one of its biggest scandals in years after several players and coaches were accused of being involved in illegal sports betting and insider gambling on Thursday morning.
Among those charged are Miami Heat veteran guard Terry Rozier, as well as Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Class of 2024 NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups. Both are connected to separate schemes that have raised serious questions about the league’s integrity.
According to the FBI investigation, Rozier allegedly told a friend he would leave a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023 early due to “tightness” in his hamstring, prompting large bets on his player prop ”under.” He exited the game after only six minutes, and the bets reportedly paid out over $200,000.
Similarly, Billups is accused of giving a bettor inside information about his team’s injuries also before a game in March 2023, allowing them to place a winning $100,000 wager.
A Major Crisis for the League
Taylor Henry, an assistant professor of communication at Seton Hall, called the scandal “likely the biggest PR crisis the league has faced [under NBA commissioner] Adam Silver's leadership.” He explained that past controversies, such as the Donald Sterling incident in 2014 or the NBA's stance on China, were serious but much easier to contain.
“This one is different,” Henry said. “It’s harder to manage because it’s multifaceted—you have players like Rozier and a head coach who's a very recognizable name, [so] it's it’s harder to claim these are just isolated cases.”
Henry also pointed to the NBA’s hypocrisy in its strong relationship with betting companies.
“You're condemning players [for] betting while advertising DraftKings and FanDuel all over your arenas and TV spots,” he said. “It makes it seem like the league approves of gambling even as it punishes those who do it.”
Brand Damage but an Opportunity to Recover
Dr. Daniel Ladik, an associate professor of marketing at SHU, agreed with Henry that the scandal is a “major negative publicity hit” for the league. He expressed disapproval of Billups in particular, who many fans and players alike viewed with respect for years.
“The charges toward [Billups] are significant and will mostly lead to jail time,” Ladik said. “This is a sad end to the chapter of an excellent former NBA player and current coach who was recently elected to the Hall of Fame.”
Still, Ladik believes the NBA can recover if it acts quickly and clearly.
“A press conference with solid details and information would be a positive step,” he said. “These are still isolated events—significant but isolated, [and the] NBA works with analytics companies that track betting patterns, so they can detect inconsistencies faster than people realize.”
Fans Are Losing Trust
For fans and young sports enthusiasts, the issue hits differently. Adrianna Clements, a senior public relations major, questioned the fairness of the league after the scandal.
“This whole scandal breaks trust within the NBA,” Clements said. “When players and coaches give inside information to bettors, it makes fans—especially Heat and Trail Blazers fans—feel like the games are rigged or scripted.”
Like Ladik, Clements added that the league must act quickly to restore its credibility.
“The NBA has to take these investigations more seriously and look into strange betting patterns sooner rather than later,” she said.
Looking Ahead
Following the news, the NBA released a statement saying that they “take these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” and that “the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
While some experts believe the damage can be repaired, others warn that the league's growing partnership with sports betting companies could continue to blur the line between fair play and financial gain. For now, fans are left wondering how deep the scandal goes—and if they can still believe what they see on the court.
Jaden Highsmith is the assistant editor of The Setonian’s Sports section. He can be reached at jaden.highsmith@student.shu.edu.
