Blazers coach Chauncey Billups arrested by FBI for alleged role in illegal gambling operation

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncy Billups was arrested early Thursday morning in Portland in connection to a wide-ranging illegal gambling and sports rigging operation, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

“The FBI led a coordinated take down across 11 states to arrest over 30 individuals today responsible for this case,” Patel said at a press conference Thursday in New York. “Not only did we crack into the fraud that these perpatrators committed on the grand stage of the NBA, but we also entered and executed a system of justice against La Cosa Nostra to include the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese crime families.”

Billups was taken into custody merely hours after the Trail Blazers started the 2025-26 season. He is scheduled to appear in Federal Court in Portland Thursday afternoon, according to the FBI. He will be arraigned on his indictment in Brooklyn at a future date.

Billups was allegedly involved in illegal and rigged poker games. US attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said Billups was used as a “face card” to lure “fish” into games, where victims were scammed and fleeced using cheating technologies.

Patel said Thursday’s arrests included charges of wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling. “We’re talking about tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery,” Patel said.

Current Miami Heat player Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones were also among those arrested by the FBI Thursday.

UPDATE: The NBA said in a statement that “We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.