Sup fellow degens, 

We live for the sport here.

We love the gut and glory here.

We live for the sweat, the body heat, and the late-clock, late-game player jumps that cause the orange-painted metal rim to shake and the whole court erupting in manic screams. 

But what's happening in the NBA right now isn't just some degens getting a little rowdy in the front row. 

It's a full-blown, organized crime RICO case that makes Uncut Gems look like a Disney movie. 

For years, the league executives have been happily rolling around piles of cash from DraftKings, FanDuel, and every other sportsbook on the planet. Odds were integrated into broadcasts, influencers were paid, and fans were told the only way to enjoy the game is to have skin in the game. 

Well, they invited the devil in. Now he's flipping the table. 

The FBI has arrested over 30 people in a new case that involves players, coaches, and even the mafia. 

Those arrested include Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones.

This isn't about a $50 bet that LeBron will hit 35 points in the first quarter. 

This is organized crime backed by the four Mafia families (Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Bonanno), rigged poker games, and NBA insiders leaking injury info for profit. 
Here's the carnage. 

Reports from major media houses like ESPN, CNN, The Athletic show that the NBA bear-hugged the degen life and is now under federal investigators fire. 

A breakdown of what exactly happened:

Scheme 1: The Prop Bet Rig (Featuring Terry Rozier)

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (and former player Damon Jones) are accused of providing inside information to a gambling ring. 

A modern degenerate nightmare. 

The info included things like when players would sit out or leave a game early due to an “injury" 

Even in one instance in March 2023, Rozier allegedly told his associates that he would leave a game against the Pelicans early. These associates hammered "under” on his prop bets with over $200,000 in wagers. Rozier was substituted out after nine minutes with a "foot injury.” 

In fact, the report noted that the bettors included one Rozier family member who frequently bet on Rozier and lost, until this particular day. 

Every degen with his payday, I guess. 

Think about all the times your 12-leg parlay died because a player mysteriously got "hurt” in the first quarter. 

Now, you have federal prosecutors saying that there was no injury. Only an orchestrated bad beat that makes you question all the prop bets you've placed. 

Damon Jones, The Lakers Leak

Former NBA player Damon Jones allegedly leaked medical information about LeBron James and Anthony Davis before games in 2023 and 2024.

In a January 2024 game, despite the leak saying LeBron and AD would sit, they actually played. The bet was lost. The co-conspirators asked Jones for their money back.

Even the inside information was unreliable.

Peak degeneracy. 

Scheme 2: Underground Poker

Straight out of Goodfellas, this scheme didn't just involve basketball. It involved the Gambino crime family and high-stakes underground poker. 

They used former pro athletes and NBA players to act as “face cards" for their rigged poker games. 

Chauncey Billups, Portland Trail Blazers head coach, is accused of joining a rigged poker game in Las Vegas in 2019, acting as a “face card" to lure fish into the game.

Who wouldn't want to play poker with the big shot? 

Unfortunately for the fish, the games were fixed. Using high-tech cheating methods, marked cards, and sophisticated shuffling machines that could read a deck, the victims didn't stand a chance. 

They lost millions. 

The NBA says that it treats the allegations with the “utmost seriousness” and that the integrity of the game is top priority. 

Both Billups and Rozier have been placed on administrative leave. 

That's just some PR speech. 

The league has marketed gambling to its entire fanbase, taken billions in sponsorship money, and plastered betting lines on all the screens during free throws. 

And then act shocked that the coaches and players get involved in the action. 

Shocked?!

They turned their product into a financial market. And just like Wall Street, where there is a market, there will be insider trading and manipulation. 

The inevitable outcome of wanting to drink milk without a bit of stain on the lips. 

The NBA wanted the gambling revenue without the degen gambling culture. Now they have both, with a side of federal indictments. 

If, like me, you are betting on player props this weekend, good luck. 

You're not betting just against the house anymore. You might be playing against a coordinated scheme involving the point guard, his cousin, his benefactors, and a guy named “Joey Hooper" from Queens. 

The game has changed. Proceed with Caution. And be skeptical about injury reports.

TL;DR: The FBI arrested former NBA players, current players, and coaches in a gambling scheme that included insider information leaks and mafia-backed poker games. The NBA says it takes the allegations seriously.

Stay degen,

Dima