![\"December](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Warriors_Trail_Blazers_Basketball_25288174448443-1200x800.jpg\"\/)
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups looks on during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Portland, Ore. Credit: AP Photo\/Amanda Loman<\/p>\nThe\u00a0month of February\u00a02023\u00a0was\u00a0a monumental one for the Los Angeles Lakers. Especially for the team\u2019s standout player, LeBron James, the power forward fans affectionately\u00a0call \u201cKing James.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
On a historic night, Feb. 7, in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, James shattered a record once thought to be unbreakable: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar\u2019s NBA career scoring record. The moment arrived with his signature step-back jumper in the third quarter, giving James his 38,388th point and securing his place as the league\u2019s all-time leading scorer. Crypto.com Arena erupted in a thunderous standing ovation. The crowd was packed with James\u2019 wife and kids, celebrities,\u00a0athletes\u00a0and musicians, all bearing witness to history. Denzel Washington, Woody Harrelson, Andy Garcia, Magic Johnson, Jay-Z, Bad Bunny, Floyd Mayweather and Usher were among the high-profile spectators spotted in the crowd, sitting near the man whose long-held record was about to be shattered \u2014 Abdul-Jabbar himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the minutes after the history-making basket, the game was briefly paused for a powerful and symbolic ceremony. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and Abdul-Jabbar joined James at center court, where the elder\u00a0statesman\u00a0of the NBA held the ball aloft before passing it to James, a gesture that\u00a0represented\u00a0the official changing of the guard. An emotional James thanked Abdul-Jabbar and the fans, while Abdul-Jabbar praised the new scoring king. Although the Lakers lost the game that night, the outcome\u00a0was overshadowed by the magical moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the crowd that night was a longtime friend of James, a former teammate back when the King played for the Cleveland Cavaliers: Damon Jones. Jones had become a familiar face to anyone associated with the Lakers. He rode the team bus, wore Lakers gear and was usually on court for pregame practice, firing off passes to James on the court. But Jones\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0on the team\u2019s payroll and\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have any sort of official title. Federal prosecutors now say he was acting as \u201can unofficial assistant coach\u201d for the Lakers during the 2022-23 NBA season. Jones was\u00a0basically just\u00a0a guy with a lot of time on his hands, whom James enjoyed having around. And as far as anyone knows today, the superstar NBA player had no idea what Jones was up to \u2014 using his access to inside information as part of a sprawling illegal betting scheme, one of many that was laid out by federal prosecutors in recent months.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When James set that scoring record, he was on the verge of inking a contract that would pay him more than $46 million for the 2023-24 season. On top of that, he had\u00a0signed with\u00a0a slew of companies for another $80 million in endorsement deals. He was worth more than $120 million that year \u2014 tops in the NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His\u00a0pal\u00a0Jones, on the other hand, was\u00a0broke. Dead broke in fact, according to a review of records from federal bankruptcy court, where he had filed twice, once in 2013 and once in 2015. Making matters worse for Jones, the court dismissed both attempts to wipe away his debts. Despite having played professional ball as an NBA journeyman for a decade \u2014 earning an estimated $20 million in his career from 1999 to\u00a02009, and\u00a0later serving as an assistant coach \u2014 Jones said he had nothing left. In 2023, Jones and his wife were months away from getting booted out of their luxury apartment in Houston for not paying their rent. He claimed his assets were\u00a0nonexistent, and\u00a0listed the couple\u2019s Yorkie dog as a valuable worth $1. They owed money to everyone: the IRS, American Express and banks. His unusual access to the Lakers gleaned\u00a0him\u00a0some valuable information about their players, including his friend James, who was on his way to becoming the richest player in the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was information federal prosecutors now say Jones would use to try to dig himself out of debt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the years since a\u00a0landmark Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 allowed states to legalize sports betting, the NBA, as a league, saw an opportunity. Months later, in July of that year, the league announced an official gambling partner: MGM Resorts International, which gives the casino conglomerate access to official NBA data on its betting platform \u2013\u00a0purportedly to\u00a0detect fraud. More deals were struck\u00a0with betting companies like DraftKings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n
What does the NBA get out of these partnerships? A piece of\u00a0the action.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, there are\u00a0some\u00a0rules. For one, these betting outfits\u00a0generally prohibit\u00a0users from wagering based on access to prerelease, confidential\u00a0information\u00a0or other nonpublic information. The terms of use and house rules also prohibit individuals from using others to place wagers on their behalf, other- wise known as straw betting. But a slew of scandals\u00a0show\u00a0that rules, at least to those who see an opportunity \u2014 or might need access to quick cash \u2014 were made to be broken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As part of the partnership with betting platforms, NBA teams\u00a0are required to\u00a0report to the NBA commissioner information concerning player injuries,\u00a0illnesses\u00a0and rest for all NBA games. On each game day, the NBA\u00a0disseminates\u00a0an injury report for each NBA team playing that day. The report\u00a0identifies\u00a0players as falling within one of the following categories: \u201cavailable,\u201d \u201cprobable,\u201d \u201cquestionable,\u201d \u201cdoubtful\u201d and \u201cout.\u201d The injury reports are updated multiple times throughout each game day, federal\u00a0prosecutors explain in the\u00a0indictment\u00a0naming Jones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is not supposed to happen, however, is a big-name player like LeBron James having a hanger-on in the locker room who just happens to hear that the Lakers star has a sore ankle. Which is what prosecutors say happened with Jones, describing in a federal indictment unsealed in January that he used the \u201cvirtue of his relationship\u201d with \u201cPlayer 3,\u201d who multiple sources confirm is James, as insider information on the Lakers, which he then \u201csold or attempted to sell for profit.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One such event took place on Feb. 9, 2023 \u2014 just two days after the fanfare inside the Lakers\u2019 house the night \u201cThe Chosen One,\u201d King James, broke the scoring record. That night, Jones, federal prosecutors allege, texted a friend that James was going to sit out the game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a sore ankle. It was valuable information to bettors who could place wagers against the Lakers, who were less likely to cover the point spread without James playing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a text message cited by prosecutors, Jones wrote to a\u00a0bettor: \u201cGet a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out!\u201d He stressed that it should be a \u201cbig bet\u201d so that \u201cDjones\u00a0could eat too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lakers, without their superstar, went on to lose the game. And \u201cDjones\u201d would eat that night with a cut of a bettor\u2019s\u00a0proceeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Months later, Jones fed information again, according to the\u00a0indictment. This time he texted a guy from St. Louis whom prosecutors name as Erik \u201cSpook\u201d Earnest, someone the FBI calls a middle- man between accused NBA cheaters and the betting outfits. Earnest, according to\u00a0an indictment, then reached out to another man prosecutors describe as a \u201csports betting consultant,\u201d named\u00a0Marves\u00a0Fairley, texting: \u201cHit me asap got one for u dude say he got some info.\u201d That night, however, would prove to be a problem for gamblers. Despite Jones\u2019 claims about Anthony Davis, the player\u00a0wasn\u2019t, in fact, injured. He played in\u00a0the Jan. 15, 2024, game\u00a0and the Lakers won.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fairley, who had bet a hundred grand on the game, was pissed and demanded that Jones repay him the $2,500 that he had given him for the tip, according to federal prosecutors. The money was paid through an intermediary, via a peer-to-peer mobile payment platform, accompanied by the message: \u201cfee,\u201d prosecutors say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of this became public after a bombshell announcement by federal prosecutors in October. Jones is now charged with wire fraud and money laundering for what investigators call his \u201csignificant wagers\u201d and those of others based on the information he gleaned hanging out with the Lakers as an unofficial coach. His name is listed on two separate indictments among a list that shockingly includes high-profile NBA staff and talent: Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier. Others listed in the cases include recognizable wise guys from New York City\u2019s organized crime landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defendants turned professional basketball into a criminal betting operation, using private locker room\u00a0and medical information to enrich themselves and cheat legitimate\u00a0sports-books,\u201d\u00a0stated\u00a0United States Attorney for New York City\u2019s Eastern District Joseph Nocella. \u201cThis was a sophisticated conspiracy involving athletes, coaches and intermediaries who exploited confidential information for profit. Insider betting schemes erode the integrity of American sports, and this Office will continue in its strong tradition of holding accountable anyone who\u00a0seeks\u00a0to corrupt sports through illegal means.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups looks on during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, in Portland, Ore. Credit: AP Photo\/Amanda Loman<\/p>\n
There is no question that the NBA is alarmed. The fact that current and former players stand accused of working alongside mob bosses on both coasts, charged with throwing games for profit and ripping off \u201cwhales\u201d (aka high rollers) at rigged poker games, has raised questions about the legitimacy of league games played across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is the game rigged? And is basketball the only game on the line for sports fans?\u00a0<\/p>\n