Damon Jones played 81 games for the Houston Cougars between 1994 and 1997. He made his NBA debut in 1999.
HOUSTON — Former University of Houston basketball player Damon Jones was among several others arrested Thursday in connection with an alleged illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information.
Jones, now 49, played 81 games for the Cougars between 1994 and 1997 before heading to the NBA, where he made his debut for the New Jersey Nets in 1999.
In Jones’ case, he’s among six defendants accused of participating in an insider sports betting conspiracy that exploited confidential information about NBA athletes and teams, according to Joseph Nocella, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. He called it “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.”
According to the indictment, Jones was an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23 when he allegedly was involved with the betting scheme. He’s been coaching since 2014.
“My message to the defendants who’ve been rounded up today is this: Your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out,” Nocella said.
Jones is from Galveston and played for several NBA teams throughout his 11-year NBA playing career. He began his career in New Jersey before playing for Boston, Golden State, Dallas, Vancouver, Detroit, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Miami and Cleveland. Jones averaged 11.6 points in the 2004-05 season with Miami, his only season scoring in double figures.
Jones joined Cleveland’s coaching staff in 2014 as a shooting consultant. He was on Tyronn Lue’s Cleveland staff for the postseason in 2016 and was named a full-time assistant for the Cavaliers later that year. He also worked as a TV analyst for ESPN in 2018.
More allegations
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were also arrested Thursday. They, along with more than 30 others, are accused of participating in schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by the Mafia.
Rozier is accused of participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using private insider NBA information. Billups is charged in a separate indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games that were backed by Mafia families.
Both men face money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges and were expected to make initial court appearances later Thursday.
Billups was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year. The five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA point guard led the Detroit Pistons to their third league title in 2004 as NBA Finals MVP. Boston drafted the former Colorado star with the No. 3 pick overall in 1997.
The 49-year-old Billups is in his fifth season as Portland’s coach, compiling a 117-212 record. The Trail Blazers opened the season Wednesday night at home with a 118-114 loss to Minnesota.
Rozier accused of leaving game early
As part of the scheme, players sometimes altered their performance or took themselves out of games early, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. In one instance, Rozier, while playing for the Hornets, told people he was planning to leave the game early with a “supposed injury,” allowing them to place wagers that raked in thousands of dollars, Tisch said.
A game involving Rozier that has been in question was a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans on March 23, 2023. Rozier played the first 9 minutes and 36 seconds of that game, and not only did he not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining and was not in playoff contention, so it did not seem particularly unusual that Rozier was shut down for the season’s final games.
In that game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in that opening period — a productive quarter but well below his usual total output for a full game.
Posts still online from March 23, 2023, show that some bettors were furious with sportsbooks that evening when it became evident that Rozier was not going to return to the Charlotte-New Orleans game after the first quarter, with many turning to social media to say that something “shady” had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night.
A prop is a type of wager that allows gamblers to bet on whether a player will exceed a certain statistical number, such as whether the player will finish over or under a certain total of points, rebounds or assists.
The indictment of Rozier and others says there are nine unnamed co-conspirators, including a Florida resident who was an NBA player, an Oregon resident who was an NBA player from about 1997 to 2014, and an NBA coach since at least 2021, as well as a relative of Rozier.
Rozier and other defendants “had access to private information known by NBA players or NBA coaches” that was likely to affect the outcome of games or players’ performances and provided that information to other co-conspirators in exchange for either a flat fee or a share of betting profits, the indictment says.
Rozier was in uniform as the Heat played the Magic on Wednesday evening in Orlando, Florida, in the season opener for both teams, though he did not play in the game. He was taken into custody in Orlando early Thursday morning. The team did not immediately comment on the arrest.
Both Rozier and Billups were placed on leave by the NBA.
The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/vJ4bL2JwiC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 23, 2025
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