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Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat's Terry Rozier arrested in federal gambling-related investigation
An FBI spokesperson confirmed former NBA player Damon Jones, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, was also arrested in the investigation.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups, a former NBA star and head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, were among 31 people arrested on Thursday in connection with a federal gambling-related investigation, two senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed former NBA player Damon Jones, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has been arrested in Las Vegas. Tommy Gelardo was also arrested this morning, an FBI spokesperson said.

Rozier, who joined the Heat in 2024 from the Charlotte Hornets, was arrested Thursday morning in Orlando, Florida. He is expected to appear in Orlando federal court on Thursday afternoon.

It is not immediately clear where Billups was arrested, but he is set to be arraigned in Portland later today where he resides, officials with the Eastern District of New York said in a press conference. The Trail Blazers played in Portland, Oregon, last night.

Members and associates of organized crime groups are also among the couple of dozen expected to face criminal charges in two separate illegal gambling-related cases.

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Rozier, an Ohio native and 10-year NBA veteran, was picked 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2015 NBA draft after playing college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. It is not immediately clear which case Rozier is allegedly involved with.

"A long time ago, we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication," Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said in a statement to NBC News. "They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel."

Trusty added, "It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender, they opted for a photo op."

"They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case," he added. "They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA, and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight."

Billups’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Miami Heat and the Trail Blazers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Billups has coached since 2021, following a widely lauded 17-season playing career that culminated in the sport’s highest honor: enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

A high school and collegiate star out of Colorado, Billups, 49, entered the NBA in 1997 as the third overall draft pick. By 2014, his clutch baskets and on-court leadership were vital to Detroit’s NBA championship over the Lakers. The title run earned him the nickname “Mr. Big Shot,” the honor of being named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, and transformed his career. Between 2006 and 2010, Billups was voted an all-star five times.

After retiring in 2014, Billups worked as an NBA analyst for ESPN. After one season as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, he was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021.

Law enforcement’s interest in Billups comes four months after another NBA star, Gilbert Arenas, was arrested and indicted after the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California alleged he was involved in helping operate illegal, high-stakes poker games out of a Los Angeles-area home that Arenas owned.

Investigations into gambling have extended to active NBA players in recent seasons, as well. Jontay Porter pleaded guilty in federal court and was banned by the NBA for life in 2024 for violating the league’s sports gambling rules, with the league alleging that the Toronto Raptors forward had bet on NBA games and disclosed confidential information about his own participation to bettors. He is set to be sentenced in December.