The FBI announced massive investigations related to illegal sports betting on Thursday that led to the arrest of Chauncey Billups, who is the head coach of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, the professional home of former Syracuse basketball star Jerami Grant.
Per reports from ESPN and other media outlets, among those arrested were Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who was an All-ACC performer in college at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Louisville.
ESPN said that the investigations not only relate to gambling, but also "rigged poker games backed by the Mafia."
FBI Director Kash Patel, via his X page, said that the investigations resulted in more than 30 arrests. He wrote: "Today the FBI dismantled a multi-million dollar gambling ring tied to La Cosa Nostra, including current & former NBA players and coaches - as well as an inside scheme to rig sports betting outcomes for profit."
🚨 30+ arrests. 11 states. 1 nationwide takedown.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) October 23, 2025
Today the FBI dismantled a multi-million dollar gambling ring tied to La Cosa Nostra, including current & former NBA players and coaches — as well as an inside scheme to rig sports betting outcomes for profit.
Cheating,… pic.twitter.com/dxzDO26NFJ
Billups was arrested in Oregon, according to ESPN. He won an NBA championship as a player with the Detroit Pistons and was an All-American in college at Colorado. Billups, who became Portland's head coach in 2021, is "charged in a separate indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games that were backed by Mafia families, authorities said," per the ESPN report.
Former Syracuse basketball player Jerami Grant started his NBA season this week.
Grant, a 6-foot-7 forward from the Washington, D.C., area, is in his 13th NBA season as the 2025-26 term just got underway. The Philadelphia 76ers selected Grant at No. 39 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. He has played at the pro level for Philadelphia, Oklahoma City, Denver, Detroit and Portland.
According to statistics from ESPN, Grant has 9,457 career points in the NBA. He has career averages of 13.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while making 44.9 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from 3-point land and 75.3 percent from the free-throw line.
In four NBA seasons, he has averaged at least 19 points per contest. On Wednesday, Portland had its 2025-26 season opener. The Trail Blazers fell, at home, to Minnesota by a final of 118-114. While Grant didn't start, he produced a team-high 29 points in just 28 minutes, going 10-of-14 from the field and 4-of-7 from long range.
On the Hill, Grant played two seasons for the Orange. In his freshman campaign, the 'Cuse went 30-10 overall and advanced to the 2013 Final Four. In his sophomore term, Syracuse basketball started 25-0 but finished at 28-6, losing in the 2014 NCAA Tournament's round of 32.