Chauncey Billups pleads not guilty on charges from gambling scheme

NEW YORK — Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty on Monday during his appearance at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy as authorities accuse the Naismith Hall of Famer of being the "face card" in a scheme that helped lure players to poker games held in Las Vegas, where sophisticated machines were used to dupe victims out of millions of dollars.

Billups, dressed in a gray suit and light blue dress shirt, and flanked by his attorneys, arrived at the Theodore Roosevelt United States Courthouse in Brooklyn, home to the Eastern District of New York, nearly an hour before his arraignment, which was also a status conference hearing for the other 31 defendants in the case, dubbed "Operation Royal Flush."

When he was arrested on Oct. 23, Billups was ordered to forfeit his passport and restrict his travel to Oregon, Colorado, and New York.

The 49-year-old Billups, a five-time All-Star who spent 17 seasons in the NBA and won a Finals MVP award with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.

In another part of the indictment tied to gambling, Billups is believed to be "Co-Conspirator 8," who authorities say gave confidential game information before it was publicly available, and is described as an ex-NBA player who played from 1997 to 2014, an NBA coach since 2021, and an Oregon resident. Billups meets all three of those characteristics.

Billups is on unpaid leave from his job coaching the Trail Blazers, as is Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who is due in court at the Brooklyn federal courthouse Dec. 8. Federal authorities allege in court documents that Rozier provided insider information, which gamblers used to make wagers involving the Los Angeles Lakers, Trail Blazers, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Toronto Raptors over the span of a year.

Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones has already pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy when he made his initial appearance in court Nov. 6.

In a developing story, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones all were arrested on Oct. 23, 2025, for their alleged role in an explosive gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA.

Kawhi Leonard and team owner Steve Ballmer are at the forefront of an investigation into whether the team allegedly helped facilitate a $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal for Leonard with a now-bankrupt sustainability company called Aspiration.

The NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. on Feb. 20, 2025 for 25 games for testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, which is an opiate.

The NBA gave Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter a lifetime ban in April 2024 for "disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games."

The NBA banned Donald Sterling for life, forced him to sell the Los Angeles Clippers and fined him $2.5 million in April 2014 after racist comments made by Sterling on a private audio recording were disclosed. 

In the 2009-10 season, it was discovered Gilbert Arenas had brought guns into the Wizards locker room and had an alteracation with then-teammate Javaris Crittenton involving firearms in the locker room. The NBA suspended both players indefinitely, and Arenas ended up serving a 50-game suspension.

In 2008, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to a 15-month prison term and three years of supervised release for betting on games that he officiated.

Latrell Sprewell was fired from the Golden State Warriors after he choked Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo during a closed door practice.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

In a developing story, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones all were arrested on Oct. 23, 2025, for their alleged role in an explosive gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

In a developing story, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones all were arrested on Oct. 23, 2025, for their alleged role in an explosive gambling scandal that has rocked the NBA.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

Kawhi Leonard and team owner Steve Ballmer are at the forefront of an investigation into whether the team allegedly helped facilitate a $28 million “no-show” endorsement deal for Leonard with a now-bankrupt sustainability company called Aspiration.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

The NBA suspended Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis Jr. on Feb. 20, 2025 for 25 games for testing positive for the painkiller Tramadol, which is an opiate.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

The NBA gave Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter a lifetime ban in April 2024 for "disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games."

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

The NBA banned Donald Sterling for life, forced him to sell the Los Angeles Clippers and fined him $2.5 million in April 2014 after racist comments made by Sterling on a private audio recording were disclosed. 

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

In the 2009-10 season, it was discovered Gilbert Arenas had brought guns into the Wizards locker room and had an alteracation with then-teammate Javaris Crittenton involving firearms in the locker room. The NBA suspended both players indefinitely, and Arenas ended up serving a 50-game suspension.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

In 2008, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was sentenced to a 15-month prison term and three years of supervised release for betting on games that he officiated.

NBA’s biggest scandals: Betting, violence and racism exposed

Latrell Sprewell was fired from the Golden State Warriors after he choked Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo during a closed door practice.

Authorities say that Jones allegedly shared and sold insider information on numerous occasions about undisclosed details of NBA games, such as lineup decisions and pre-released medical information, to his co-conspirators, who then placed significant wagers based on the tips. The medical information allegedly involved LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who were playing for the Lakers at the time. James and Davis have not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Jones is also accused of using his notoriety to get people to poker games rigged by organized crime figures in order to steal money from them, sometimes using technology, including poker chip trays with hidden cameras, and rigged shuffling machines with the ability to read the cards in the deck.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chauncey Billups arraignment: NBA coach pleads not guilty