Following the arrests of Chauncey Billups , Terry Rozier and Damon Jones, some members of the NBA community have raised theories that the FBI may have an extra motivation to target the league.
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson discussed how the indictment of Jones specifically refers to him providing information about LeBron James ' injury status for a particular NBA game.
"He could have given more information than just Bron," Jefferson said on the "Road Trippin'" podcast. "But Bron's name is the one they want to use."
"He gave information? Did he give information on other players? Did he give any other information on lineups? Did he do any of that stuff? Again, when I say performance, they're gonna take the biggest name that they can and say, 'He was giving information on Bron.' 'That's Bron's guy.' And it's like, 'No,' this is an individual that has been in the league on multiple teams on multiple coaching staffs. Like that's who he is, right? So it's like to associate him with one person, no, he's associated with the NBA. And that's the sh–y part of it," the retired forward added.
Billups and Jones are accused of disclosing non-public insider information about players' availability during specific games, thereby giving bettors an unfair advantage in determining which teams to bet on.
The indictment mentions a 2023 game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks , where James was not on the injured list but was a coach's DNP. Before that game, Jones reportedly texted a co-conspirator about the Lakers superstar not playing and urged him to "Bet big" on the Bucks. Milwaukee was a 7.5-point favorite to beat the Lakers, and they ended up winning the game by nine points.
Aside from that, Kendrick Perkins also talked about the timing of the arrests. He mentioned that the FBI has been investigating the scandal for years, and these were games that happened two or more years ago.
"They want to embarrass you," added Perkins. "What happened that day could've happened three weeks ago, seriously. They knew the timing of this. They wanted it at this moment. They wanted it at the start of the NBA season, where we see so many guys after Victor Wembanyama fu—g went crazy. They're like, 'Oh hell yeah. The internet is buzzing. Let's go.'"
Stephen A. Smith also questioned the timing of the arrests, pointing out that they occurred after Victor Wembanyama's spectacular season-opener against the Dallas Mavericks . But Smith was more direct; he said that this is the handiwork of U.S. President Donald Trump , who has an axe to grind against the NBA following the George Floyd protests.
"How many times have I said, 'Trump is coming. He's coming," he said on "First Take." "I'm gonna say it on national television again. Bad Bunny is performing at the Super Bowl, and all of a sudden, you're hearing ICE is gonna be there, looking to engage in mass deportations. The Super Bowl distracting things. Big night in the NBA. Wembanyama put on a show, but that has been smeared because we're talking about this story."
It's worth noting that James was one of the key figures in the George Floyd protests, and he even hit back at Trump after the latter called the NBA players' kneeling during the national anthem disgraceful. However, FBI Director Kash Patel called Smith's allegations the "single dumbest thing" he's heard from the media.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
