Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups will be arrested in the rigged poker games case

NEW YORK – Portland Trail Blazers coach and basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups is set to appear in court in New York to face charges he profited from rigged poker games involving several Mafia figures and at least one other former NBA player.

The five-time All-Star, who won a championship with the Detroit Pistons, will be arraigned Monday in federal court in Brooklyn on money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges.

Chris Haywood, his lawyer, said Billups is a “man of integrity” and denies the allegations.

“To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of, is to believe that he would risk his Hall of Fame legacy, his reputation and his freedom. He wouldn’t risk those things for anything, let alone a card game,” Heywood said after Billups appeared in federal court in Portland, Oregon, when prosecutors first announced the charges at the O23.

Billups was the most prominent name among more than 30 indictments in last month’s federal sweep of illegal gambling operations tied to professional sports. The other suspects are also expected to appear in court for Monday’s proceedings, in which the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys will likely discuss the next steps in the case.

Prosecutors say the 49-year-old Denver resident, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame last year, was involved in a scheme to rig Mafia-backed illegal poker games in Manhattan, Las Vegas, Miami and the Hamptons.

Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones was also arrested in the alleged scheme, which prosecutors say used a range of sophisticated technology that allowed gambling to be rigged, such as modified card-shuffling machines, cameras hidden in poker chip trays, special glasses and even equipment built into X-ray cards.

Jones was also charged with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier in a separate scheme around the same time that allowed gamblers to exploit insider information about players to win bets on NBA games.

Prosecutors say the poker scam Billups was involved in defrauding victims of an estimated $7 million starting in at least 2019.

They say he served as a celebrity “face card” that could attract wealthy, unsuspecting players to the sport. Prosecutors said that during one game, the scheme’s operators exchanged messages that one of the victims “paid as much as he wanted to give Chauncey money” because he was “star-struck.”

Prosecutors say Bill Ups, who earned about $106 million from his playing days, received a portion of the ill-gotten gains. After a rigged game in October 2020, for example, they say he was directly wired $50,000.

The scheme organizers also had to share a portion of their proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonanno mob families to operate illegal poker games run by New York criminal organizations, prosecutors said.

They said the mafia members, in turn, helped carry out violent acts, including assault, extortion and robbery, to ensure the repayment of loans and the continued success of the operation.

Billips was selected third overall in the 1997 draft by the Boston Celtics after starring in college with the Colorado Buffaloes. He played 17 years in the NBA, with stints with the Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers.

But he is perhaps most beloved in the Motor City, where he earned the nickname “Mr. Big Shot” for his knack for making clutch shots.

Billups was named the NBA Finals MVP during the Pistons’ title run in 2004 and had his No. 1 jersey retired by the team.

After retiring in 2014, Bulls began a career as a TV analyst, before turning to coaching.

He was hired as Portland’s coach in 2021 and signed a multi-year extension with the Trail Blazers earlier this year after the team missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season in 2024. Bills previously served as an assistant coach at the Los Angeles Clippers.

After his arrest, he was placed on unpaid leave and assistant coach and former NBA player Tiago Splitter was named interim coach of the Trail Blazers.