Terry Rozier, the NBA standout, was recently seen leaving court in a hoodie and vibrant shorts following his arrest tied to an FBI probe into a Mafia-run gambling operation that has reportedly been active for decades.

The NBA faced a significant upheaval on Thursday, merely two days into its new season, when federal agents conducted a series of overnight raids. These actions resulted in the detainment of both Rozier and Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Later in the day, Rozier, who plays for the Miami Heat, made an appearance at a federal court in Orlando, Florida. He exited the courthouse discreetly through a side door after his arraignment.

Dressed in black and red sneakers, colorful shorts, and a black hoodie, the 31-year-old was seen getting into a black car. His mother and attorney were also present at the courthouse. Billups is expected to appear in court later on Thursday.

In New York, FBI Director Kash Patel held a news conference where he disclosed remarkable details surrounding the investigation. This included sophisticated techniques allegedly used by the Mafia to manipulate an illegal poker operation, reportedly involving Billups.

Among the 34 individuals arrested in the FBI’s extensive investigation is former Cleveland Cavaliers player Damon Jones. He is accused of participating in both the poker scheme and a separate sports betting affair.

NBA star Terry Rozier has been pictured leaving court in a hoodie and colorful shorts

The NBA star’s mother and attorney were also pictured at the courthouse in Orlando, Florida

Terry Rozier was arrested early on Thursday as part of an FBI sports gambling probe

Kash Patel speaks to the media at a press conference to reveal more details on the arrests

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was also detained for illegal gambling

Trail Blazers coach Billups, 49, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year, was arrested in a case linked to an illegal poker operation linked with the Mafia. 

The poker operation is allegedly tied to the Gambino, Bonanno and Genovese crime families, and saw rigged games take place in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Las Vegas.

In Thursday’s press conference, United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. outlined the breathtaking methods used by the group to rig games.

It is alleged that New York’s notorious crime families would use X-ray tables to tilt games in their favor and wear special high-tech contact lenses to read pre-marked cards.

He said in a press conference on Thursday: ‘The defendants used a variety of very sophisticated cheating technologies, some of which were provided by other defendants in exchange for a share of the profits from the scheme.

‘They used off the shelf shuffling machines that had been secretly altered in order to read the cards in the deck, predict which player at the table had the best poker hand and relay that information to an off-site operator.

‘The off-side operator sent the information via cellphone back to a co-conspirator at the table, who was known as “the quarterback”, and they secretly signaled the information they had received to others at the table and together they used that information in order to win the games and cheat their victims.

‘Defendants used other cheating technologies, such as poker chip tray analyzers – which is a poker chip try that secretly reads cards using a hidden camera – special contact lenses or glasses that could read pre-marked cards and an X-ray table that could read cards faced down on the table.’

Billups, pictured with his wife Piper Riley, is in his fifth year of coaching Portland 

Meanwhile, Miami Heat star Rozier and former Cavaliers player and assistant coach Jones have been charged in a separate but related case, which accuses them of turning professional basketball into a criminal sports betting operation. 

It is alleged that the teams whose games were affected by the sports gambling scheme are the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors, and Portland Trail Blazers.

According to the indictment, released on Thursday morning, 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.

It is alleged they provided that information to other co-conspirators in exchange for either a flat fee or a share of the betting profits.

Rozier, 31, was detained at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, where the Heat were defeated by the Magic on the road Wednesday evening, according to ESPN. Rozier did not play due to a coach’s decision.

Rozier’s arrest comes after sportsbooks in multiple states flagged suspicious betting activity on the player’s statistics ahead of the Charlotte Hornets-New Orleans Pelicans game on March 23, 2023. 

The FBI alleges that Rozier told the defendants he was going to leave the game early, sparking a flurry of wages on the under for Rozier’s points, rebounds and assists. Sportsbooks consequently halted betting on the veteran, but it is alleged that over $200,000 of wagers were placed, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in profits.

Rozier, who was suiting up for the Hornets at the time, would ultimately leave the game in less than 10 minutes of action due to what was described at the time as a ‘sore right foot.’ He had just five points, four rebounds, two assists, and a foul.

It is then alleged he counted the money with other defendants at his home. 

The NBA guard was detained at a hotel in Orlando, Florida , where the Heat lost to the Magic 

The March 23, 2023 game was Rozier’s final of the 2022-23 season with the Hornets, who traded him to the Heat in January 2024. 

Rozier is in the final season of a four-year, $96.3million contract that he signed with the Hornets in 2021. 

Jones, 49, is also alleged to have provided inside information about NBA games to co-defendants who are said to have used it to place sports bets.

He played for 10 NBA teams over an 11-year career from 1998 to 2009 and was a Cavaliers assistant from 2016 to 2018.

In the poker case, meanwhile, it is alleged that the scheme targeted victims who were lured to participate in rigged games that boasted the chance to play alongside former professional athletes, including Billups and Jones.

The FBI claims that the defendants robbed a victim at gunpoint to acquire a rigged shuffling machine.

It is also claimed that the investigation has been four years in the making, with victims losing at least $7m, with one specific victim down over $1.8m alone.

The FBI is currently in the process of reviewing thousands of hours of video evidence, and has already executed more than 24 search warrants. 

Former Finals MVP Billups is in his fifth year leading the Trail Blazers and was on the sidelines for their season opening defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. 

Hall of Famer Billups was on the sidelines for the Trail Blazers defeat on Wednesday night  

Billups, the No. 3 overall pick in 1997, was a five-time All-Star during his 17-year career in the NBA. He led the Detroit Pistons to a championship in 2004. 

It was reported in January that federal prosecutors were previously looking into claims that Rozier manipulated his performances. 

However, the NBA said at the time that it did not find any violation committed by Rozier.

‘In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,’ NBA spokesman Mike Bass said earlier this year.

‘The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.’

The arrests follow the betting scandal involving former NBA player Jontay Porter, who was banned from the league in July 2024 for his role in a gambling scheme.

The former Toronto Raptors forward pleaded guilty last year to allegations he plotted with gamblers to impact betting outcomes in their favor.

Former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter pleaded guilty to gambling charges last year

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league was working closely with sportsbooks

He is scheduled to be sentenced in December. He had requested permission to travel abroad and play in Greece, but was denied by a federal judge in July 2024. 

Echoing findings in an NBA investigation and allegations in an ongoing prosecution of other individuals, Porter acknowledged he agreed to withdraw early from games so that co-conspirators could win bets on his performance. He did it, he said, ‘to get out from under large gambling debts.’ 

Four men, including Porter, have pleaded guilty in the case. Two other men have been named as conspirators and have been in plea negotiations, according to ESPN. 

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league was working closely with sportsbooks to combat manipulation attempts by its players.  

‘We’ve asked some of our partners to pull back some of the prop bets, especially when they’re on two-way players, guys who don’t have the same stake in the competition, where it’s too easy to manipulate something, which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score,’ Silver said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. 

‘We’re trying to put in place — learning as we go and working with the betting companies – some additional control to prevent some of that manipulation.’