NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance for Friday’s clash between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Silver appeared on Amazon’s broadcast during the second quarter, where he was asked for his initial reaction to the federal indictments involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups.
“My initial reaction was I was deeply disturbed,” Silver said. “There’s nothing more important to the league and the fans than the integrity of the competition. So, I had a pit in my stomach. It was very upsetting.”
Rozier, Billups, and former NBA player and coach Damon Jones were among the 34 individuals indicted by the FBI on Thursday as part of their investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.
Billups is accused of being part of those poker games where technology was used to steal millions from victims.
As for Rozier, he is accused of sharing insider information. Most notably, he allegedly told a childhood friend that he would leave a March 2023 game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans early. That information was said to have been relayed to bettors who then bet hundreds of thousands on the under on his props. Rozier played less than 10 minutes that night for the Hornets, and they cashed in.
The NBA had previously investigated Rozier, but the league didn’t find him to have violated rules. The 31-year-old was allowed to keep playing, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst stated that the league will have to explain why. Here is what Silver had to say about that decision during this interview.
“So what happened was, because bets were placed through legal betting companies, they picked up aberrational behavior around a particular game in March of ’23,” Silver stated. “So that was brought to our attention by the regulators and the betting companies. We then looked into that situation, and we were very transparent about it. While there was that aberrational betting, we frankly couldn’t find anything.
“Terry, at the time, cooperated and gave the league office his phone,” Silver continued. “He sat down for an interview. And we ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence, despite that aberrational behavior, to move forward. We then worked directly with the law enforcement. As they said at the press conference, the league has been cooperating. That was obviously over two years ago.
“The federal government has subpoena power, can threaten to put people in jail, can do all kinds of things that the league office can’t do,” Silver added. “So, we’ve been working with them since then. And, of course, what they announced yesterday was an indictment. So, two and a half years later, he still hasn’t been convicted, in fairness to Terry. Obviously, it doesn’t look good, but he’s now been put on administrative leave.”
Rozier and Billups have been released from custody after being arrested in the early hours of Thursday, but we won’t be seeing them at an NBA game for a while. They have both been placed on leave by the league, with Tiago Splitter assuming the role of interim head coach for the Trail Blazers. Rozier and Billups have both denied the allegations against them and will fight the charges.
While there is never a good time for such news to come out for the NBA, this was about the worst possible scenario. We have seen an incredible start to this 2025-26 season, but these indictments have somewhat taken the focus away from that.
